The Ne'er Do Wells
by ADashOfInsanity
Summary: FE8 Superhero AU - Behind every great hero is a great sidekick. Yet behind every mediocre hero is not necessarily a bad helper. As one sidekick tries to pull his hero through a troubling time, the world doesn't even notice their struggles, until now. The media call them the Ne'er do Wells. They call themselves unlikely saviours, the dark magic users, Lyon and Knoll.
1. First Edition

Laying his scissors carefully back into the drawer, Knoll gathered up the doctored magazines onto a tray and brought them through into the central hub. Half lit with an unnatural precision, their unique lounge provided something of an obstacle course. To access the hanging orb-like chairs he had to wend his way between the stacks of books that seemed to accumulate no matter how many times they rearranged their shelves or considered another trip to the furnishing store. It wasn't easy to buy bookshelves for this place. According to every magazine they'd ever read superhero bases had to have an "aesthetic." Neither of them had ever been sure what that exactly meant but together they had designed a room full of contrasts between light and darkness where everything was round for good measure. The only seating available was the two orbs that hung like moons in an eclipse against the backdrop of glowing monitors. When they had gone over designs, Knoll had asked whether they should have more seating for visitors. Lyon had grown melancholy and he had said no more about it.

The smell of freshly baked brownies made one of the orbs quiver as its occupant was roused from his lethargy. As he sat up straighter, a doll fell from his hanging chair. Knoll put the tray down on the table before kneeling down to pick up the character plush and handing it back to Lyon wordlessly. The weary looking hero tucked the toy beside him and reached forward for a chocolate brownie. Knoll watched him savour the treat as he climbed into his own swaying chair.

"Do you have any plans for today?"

"Not really," Lyon sighed, "Just… can we watch a film or something?"

"What do you want to watch?" Knoll reached forward to pick up the remote from the coffee table. He swivelled his hanging chair, wary of falling cuddly toys as Lyon did the same. Miraculously not a single red or blue clad superhero found themselves on the floor. Knoll lay back in his orb and brought up Netflix on the monitors.

"Any preferences?" he asked as Lyon rearranged his army of twin heroes.

"Something sappy," Lyon murmured as he shifted one of his cushions to allow for a fifteen inch plush of Sol the Twin Hero to sit at his right hand side. He turned back to the screens when he was sufficiently surrounded.

"Something romantic and cliché we can laugh at."

"I know there's some Ylissean films on here," Knoll mused. He flicked through the scrolling bars of film suggestions before finding something that looked exactly like what his hero had ordered.

"Wedding Wings," he read out, "A hilarious yet heart-warming romantic comedy about a Pegasus Knight and a Wyvern Knight falling in love. Can they ignore their troops' disapproval and win over the favour of their mounts? The course of love was never steered true."

"That sounds awful," Lyon sighed, eyes fixed on the scrolling preview images, "Let's watch it."

It was indeed terrible. Knoll retrieved his own tablet computer only fifteen minutes into the film and began to check through his emails. Mostly spam and announcements of imminent postal deliveries, however his old university had just announced the release a few journals, so perhaps he would get something to read whilst Lyon went through another lethargic stage. Last time this had happened they had gone to New York on holiday. However Knoll wasn't prepared to travel again so soon. That trip had ended much like their other holidays: too many zombies and a pursuit by the local police force. All they'd been trying to do was get a trapped hang-glider out of a tree. They had planned to go to Rome but they had learnt that ancient civilisations provided a little too much temptation for those with their kind of powers. Still, New York had been good and no one had called any superheroes on them unlike Paris. Knoll shuddered at the memories of Paris.

Knoll was concentrating hard on his latest word against Lyon in online Scrabble when suddenly the film was cut off. Instead of a dramatic scene in a rain-drenched parking lot, the image of a jostling crowd filled the screens with a pair of very recognisable faces at the very centre, each with a microphone pointed at them. Knoll gave them a look before going back to his tablet. Nice to see the name recognition software was working on their TV. Instead of using it for its crime-detecting purposes, Lyon had set it up to recognise the names of his favourite heroes and cut to that channel immediately, even if they were on Netflix. This was clearly another press interview. Knoll had seen dozens so he merely let them talk on in the background.

_"How did you react to being voted number one in the Magvel's Mightiest Poll of the Year?"_

Ah yes, Magvel's Mightiest. Knoll frowned at his tablet. He had stopped Lyon's subscription to that for his own good. He wasn't mentioned often but when he was it was all horrid gossip and bullying. Lyon didn't need to see that.

_"It was such an honour!" _came from the monitors in a familiar voice. Knoll glanced at Lyon. He had sat up straighter in his orb and was staring at the screen wide-eyed.

_"We never would have expected it," _Luna, the other Twin Hero, continued, _"We'd like to thank everyone who voted and everyone at Magvel's Mightiest! We couldn't keep going without your support."_

_"And what do you make of it Sol?"_ asked the interviewer.

_"I was very surprised, though you do have to wonder, if they put us separately, who would win?"_

There was laughter all round. Knoll has always had the distinct impression Sol didn't like the press side of things. He seemed more of a 'hit it with a stick' type rather than one for publicity.

_"So,"_ continued the interviewer, who likely worked for Magvel's Mightiest, _"What's new with our favourite Twin Heroes? Any new rivals? Any villain keep coming back for another go?"_

"_Just our usual jobs I'm afraid_," Luna replied brightly, "_We haven't got any rivals, hero or villain."_

_"We don't let the bad guys stay free long enough to make them rivals," _Sol added.

_"That's why you're Magvel's favourite heroes after all!" _continued the interviewer. Knoll thought he sounded disappointed but who was he to judge? He went back to reading some of the cookery blogs he followed. He lost track of the interview for a while, engrossed by a new recipe for strawberry cake which he knew Lyon would like, but when he paid attention to it, the interviewer had stopped talking about rivals.

_"Mind if I ask you some opinions on the rumours that have been flying about lately?" _ The interview was keeping up their offensively cheerful tone.

_"Of course not."_

_"Sure."_

There was a rustling of papers. Knoll looked up to see the interviewer had a set of cards with 'Magvel's Mightiest" printed on the back.

_"So is it true that heroes have to pose for the creation of their action figures?"_

_"Oh no," _Luna replied,_ "We don't have any input in that at all. They just say 'so-and-so want to make this of you, they'll give you x amount of the profits, is that alright?' We sign something and the figures get made. We don't have any say on how they'll turn out."_

_"That certainly explains some of the stranger ones," _chuckled the interviewer.

_"It does," _Luna laughed in response.

Knoll frowned. When you had heard one interview you had heard every interview. They all sounded the same to him. He and Lyon had never had an interview so he couldn't really imagine what it was like to sit in that studio, in full costume, and have someone interrogate you. It was a good thing he'd never know, he didn't think he'd like that pressure at all. Lyon probably wouldn't handle it very well either.

Knoll lost track of the interview again until a very specific name caught his attention.

_"Rumour has it," _the interviewer continued, "_That you two have a rivalry going with the Necromancer as you've dealt with most of his incidents here in the city. Is that true?"_

Knoll turned to Lyon as the twins laughed upon the screen. Lyon was clutching one of his dolls in each hand with a tightness only active repression could achieve.

_"Oh no, he's not our rival," _laughed Luna, _"We just…mop up after him occasionally, we must live quite nearby because we're generally in the same area."_

_"He's not a villain, or a hero really" _Sol added, "_He just tries to use his powers when they're not really necessary. I-"_

Whatever Sol had to say next was cut when Knoll turned off the television very abruptly.

"They're saying what the press want them to say," Lyon murmured into the cape of one of his character toys, "Of course they're saying what the press what them to say."

"That's right," Knoll replied, "They have to keep up their public image. They don't get to express how they really feel in such a crowd. They've got to keep their true identities hidden."

"I know that." Lyon curled up and buried himself in the pile of cushions and toys, idly playing with the arm of a "My Adorable Heroine: Luna" doll. Knoll said nothing and merely watched as his hero seemed to descend into the mound of stuffed figures and lose himself to his own fantasies. That interview would do nothing to help Lyon get over his lethargy, in fact their situation could be worse now he had lost so much heart. Something needed to be done before Lyon took a turn for the unhealthy. Knoll opened up his emails once more with the intention of sending a priority email to Eirika… he couldn't let Lyon know he had her priority address or he would spam her constantly and therefore drive her away. However Knoll had it in case one of their 'episodes' as the news called them, got out of hand. The Twin Heroes always ended up cleaning up their consequences for a reason. As Magvel's Mightiest continued in the background, Knoll wrote an urgent yet politely worded email to Eirika nearly identical to the previous dozen except for one line: "_I fear he will do something drastic if you ignore him any longer." _This may not be true but heroes came when things got dire. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"We've got post," Lyon commented as the word "delivery" flashed across the screen.

"I'll get it." Knoll clambered out of his chair and left the hub through a revolving book case. Ascending two flights of stairs led him to their back door where the delivery hatch lay. It was rather awkward to have post when you had a secret base but the unassuming semi-detached house they'd built their base under had proved rewarding. The natural light was another added bonus. Knoll scooped up the post off the doormat and filed through it, there was no point taking any junk downstairs. Pizza leaflets, double glazing advert, package for Lyon, local newspaper, charity letter and – Knoll frowned as he pulled a business card free from the tape used on the package. He had expected it to be from a taxi company or something equally mundane. What he saw surprised him.

**Blackstone Welfare Clinic**

**Empowering heroes for over twenty years.**

He flipped the card over, the other side it read alongside a phone number:

**Do you have powers but no purpose? Feeling down about your gifts?**

**Want someone experienced to talk to?**

**Call our friendly and confidential helpline at:**

Seemingly on impulse, Knoll stuck the business card back to Lyon's package. He had no idea such clinics existed but this was exactly what Lyon needed. Someone with more experience than Knoll would be able to give him friendly advice on how to use his less than benevolent powers to actually help people. Calling and talking to someone might help his loneliness as well. Knoll didn't want to burden the poor people at the Blackstone Welfare Clinic with Lyon's feelings about the Twin Heroes but perhaps they could help him move on with his life. If he didn't listen to Knoll then perhaps a professional would suit him better. The only thing Knoll considered himself a professional in was knowing how to deal with Lyon. Somehow that required more work than his degree did.

He brought back the package with him and gave it to Lyon, who had gone back to watching Wedding Wings with a noticeable frown on his face. Knoll retook his seat and picked up his tablet. He'd received another email. Flicking it open, he had the urge to smile. It was good to see Saleh was still his usual self. In all fairness his overly-formal emails, which were more like electronic letters, were the result of his upbringing in a community with little internet access. He had probably been forced to learn more about computers when he went to university, however Knoll had the feeling his old tutor would never quite get used to be being casual about technology.

The fact he had decided to end an invitation to go out for ice cream with 'yours sincerely' was just like him. What was peculiar however was the mention of a charge of his named Myrrh who he would be bringing along. Knoll had heard Saleh had gone back to his strange community despite receiving his PhD. Not a single word had been said about what he was doing there. To Knoll such secrecy only meant one thing: super powers. As interesting as it would be for his mentor to be a hero, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. Saleh could be up to any number of things and it wasn't really any of Knoll's business. Still he was eager to finally get a chance to catch up. He hadn't heard much of anything since Saleh had gone home.

"Lyon?" he enquired as Wedding Wings reached its saccharine climax.

"Yes?"

"Are you planning any ventures for Thursday?" Knoll doubted Lyon had anything planned but it was polite to give him some warning. Lyon would have to preoccupy himself if Knoll was absent but it wouldn't hurt for him to be gone for a single afternoon.

"No…I was thinking of going swimming…"

"Do you mind going by yourself? My university tutor is in town and we haven't seen each other in a while."

Lyon looked a little surprised. Knoll wasn't sure whether he was shocked that Knoll had other friends or he knew enough about Saleh to know this was a rare occurrence. Knoll did a definite minority of the talking in this base so it was unlikely Lyon knew much about his education.

"That's fine," Lyon replied, "Have fun."

He turned to look back at the screens, his package clutched tighter in his hands. Knoll noted that they had been bleached white by the artificial light. He could just about see the Blackstone Welfare Clinic business card on the grey wrappings. Perhaps Lyon would get lonely whilst he was out and call the clinic? No, that was probably too much to hope for. If living as a hero had taught him anything it was things did not go right if you didn't interfere. Lyon could get up to anything in his absence if he could just get over his dreariness. His pure heart was too enraptured by those Twin Heroes… Knoll was slightly sick of seeing those red and blue costumes everywhere from bulletins to bedcovers.

Ah well, he would overcome every new hurdle after some ice cream and intellectual conversation. Really Thursday could not come fast enough. One afternoon wasn't long enough for Lyon to get himself into anything too dangerous, right? Right. Knoll sent off an email of his own in response. He only hoped Saleh had worked out how to sort out his inbox by now.


	2. Secret Identities

p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Thursday came and with it an adventure through Knoll's wardrobe. For someone who spent his working life in a mask and a cape, he would have thought he'd stop caring about such things as fashion. Usually he didn't care at all, his first meeting with Saleh in a year. He wanted to look somewhat decent in front of him. He cast his sidekick outfit onto his bed. The cargo shorts landed with a clattering sound that showed he hadn't got round to clearing out the flasks of holy water like he'd promised. Maybe later, they never really used the water, that was for emergencies and there were generally too many police officers about for them to clear up after their own mistakes. Still, it was useful. Knoll added the rest of the set to the pile. Fortunately Saleh would never come to this base and see their superhero outfits. Lyon had worked very hard to create them and he had done a very good job. However it wasn't the sort of thing you wanted to be seen in by someone who knew you. At least he'd been spared Lyon's style of shorts which looked, quite frankly, uncomfortable./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"After settling for his usual clothes, he threw on his hooded cardigan and set off for the bus. The district centre had become a lot more accessible since they had moved the Wyvern Delivery headquarters towards the edge of town. Before the relocation, you couldn't take a single bus journey without the rumbling of giant vehicles. Knoll much preferred this mercifully quiet way of going shopping. It made it much more pleasant to sit outside, especially next to the bookstore, which had previously been right under the wyvern flight path. As he sat on the bus he thought he might pick up a new book for Lyon to amuse himself with on the way back. There must be a bestseller Lyon hadn't read yet. First though, he needed to find this ice cream shop. Lyon liked sweet things but they usually ordered or brought their food home rather than sitting in some kind of café. They liked the café in the bookshop, but that was quieter and had comfortable seats. They tended to avoid staying in most places and only passed through. Knoll hadn't heard of the ice cream place Saleh had mentioned so assumed it was rather new. /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"It turned out to be wedged between the toy shop and a store selling provocative lingerie. Knoll uneasily stood outside, noticing the juxtaposition of superhero themed toys in both stores. The toy shop was boasting the new array of Magvels' Mightiest and Elibe's Elite transforming figure play sets. The other shop was, well, some slogans could not be unseen. He focussed his attention on the ice cream parlour instead. It was a modern sort of place. All clean white surfaces with strips of bright colours running through them. There was a large lit up board above the till with all the sundaes and milkshakes they offered. It was called MAGICAL ICE, which made no sense because there as there was no such thing. However advertising was often inconstant with reality so Knoll ignored it. Instead he focussed on the pair of customers sat in front of the window./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Saleh looked as if time didn't pass wherever he lived. His long overcoat and brown walking boots were certainly the same as he worn to their every meeting at university. Regardless of where their meeting would be, whether in an office or outside in the park, Saleh would be attired the same. As someone with "unnatural ability", Knoll had studied from home for his degree. However he was required to have one tutoring session a week, for no more than a few hours. The idea seemed to be to let superheroes manage their education round their missions to save the world. In theory it was a good idea but it only made social interaction more awkward as people either assumed you were a superhero or you required additional help, the main two reasons why you'd come in for meetings. At first Knoll hadn't received any tutoring sessions. Even the Head of Department had called his new mentor "a bit of an odd one" and he had been told to expect very little from the PhD student. Yet after he had given in his first report, Saleh had taken an interest in him. Come to think of it, when they had first met he had been wearing that exact same shirt, alongside the overcoat and boots of course. He was currently contemplating the ice cream menu with the same slight frown he would read a report with. Though his gaze was not on her, he seemed to be in deep discussion about it with the child beside him. A child the like of which Knoll had never seen before./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"She had wings. There was no glossing over this fact. Knoll knew some super powers left physical abnormalities behind but this was far beyond strangely coloured eyes or an addiction to butter. The presence of wings was a new matter entirely. (Though according to rumours, there were bird winged people in the Tellius District.) Her wings looked reptilian though, with scales and protruding spikes like out of a storybook on dragons… Was this why Saleh had disappeared, to look after this bizarre child? She was certainly strange enough to need protection. She evidently had to adjust to fit her wings into her environment. It appeared slits had been cut in her red duffel coat to allow them to move freely /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Knoll entered the ice cream shop, drawing attention to himself as the door gave a disgruntled creak. Saleh and his charge looked up and Knoll walked over to their table, taking the offered seat./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I'm sorry I'm late." The chair gave a squeak as he sat down./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""No need for an apology. You were on time but we were early." Saleh passed him a menu and Knoll glanced at it. It seemed to be quite normal, sundaes, milkshakes, waffles and the like. His attention kept being drawn back to the child. He wondered if Saleh was going to introduce them. Were winged children normal where Saleh came from? He could remember her name was Myrrh from Saleh's email, but he wouldn't mind an explanation if it wasn't too much trouble./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""What are you two having?" asked Saleh, pulling his wallet from an inside pocket of his overcoat. Realising what he intended to do, Knoll retrieved his own./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I can get my own-"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Saleh cut across him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I arranged this trip and therefore I shall pay. Myrrh? What do you want?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Myrrh frowned at her menu for a moment before stating./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I would like the Snowy Pegasus Sundae." Her voice was strangely serious for a child's. It was as if her choice of ice cream was a grave decision, or at least something she couldn't take lightly. He wasn't sure whether to label her mature or not, she could just be really serious about ice cream, though it seemed unlikely. Saleh was rather serious as well, considering their environment. Was this formality a sign of being uncomfortable?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Knoll?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""A, er, vanilla milkshake please."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Without another word to them, Saleh strode off towards the counter leaving Knoll alone with the strange child. He knew he shouldn't call her strange. He had developed his powers as a child and Lyon's had come only a little later. However their powers hadn't changed their bodies at all, well, they were immune to their own magicks, that was the only abnormality as far as they could tell. This girl however had grown extra limbs, was flight her power or was there more to it than that? Apparently the winged men who lived in the Tellius District were a group who could turn into birds so why not should this girl not transform too?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Whatever she could do, it didn't make her stare any less disconcerting. As soon as Saleh was away she fixed her gaze upon Knoll and seemingly lost the ability to blink. Knoll looked back at her, a little uneasy under the inspection of those red eyes. He had always thought where Saleh was from was odd but if this girl was from there too… It had become a lot more bizarre. Knoll opened his mouth, intending to say some sort of introduction, however the words seemed to die in his throat. Instead he closed it again and stared at the violently pink trim on the table./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""The waitress stated that she would bring over our order in a few moments."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Saleh was a welcome sight. He retook his seat and moved the menus to one side. Knoll immediately focussed on him to try and rid himself of the feeling of being watched./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""So…" Well, his voice was co-operating, that was a start./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""So?" Saleh repeated. He was resting his hands upon the table just like he used to do at his desk. Usually there would be a mug between them or a pen, but Knoll couldn't help but think about university around him. They would always have tea from the student common room but bring their own mugs in so they didn't break any of those disposable cups over themselves. One time, when Knoll broke his favourite mug dropping it out the dishwasher, he'd been forced to use one of Lyon's Twin Hero mugs instead. Saleh had given him a rather bemused expression as he'd explained himself. Knoll hadn't wanted to seem as obsessed as Lyon was so he had probably seemed rather anxious./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""So," Knoll tried again, "How have you been?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I have been in good health," Saleh replied, "It takes some adjustment to go between the village and this city but I am adapting well. How are you?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I'm also well. Nothing much has changed in my situation." Knoll sat there for a moment wondering if Saleh was going to introduce the winged child he had acquired. Saleh was never one to skimp on explanations when necessary/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Have you returned to living in the city then?" he asked, hoping to receive some clue of why the contact after three months of absence./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Yes, I thought it was best to leave the village for a while," Saleh turned as the waitress arrived and deposited two milkshakes and an ice cream sundae on their table. Knoll was slightly awed by the size of his milkshake, which was as tall as a vase and had scoops of ice cream on its surface, but was too focussed on Saleh's explanation to pay it too much attention./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I had been given a taste of city life through my education, and though living in the village is far simpler and more practical, my job is to make sure the Great… Myrrh has a full and enriching life. After having lived for almost a millennia in one small and constant village. I believed she would appreciate a change of pace. I bought a small house walking distance from the town centre and we are currently attempting to integrate ourselves in urban society. It has been a lot of work."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Excuse me," Knoll kept his voice down. Saleh's tone had lowered into a murmur midway through his story and Knoll could see why. Surely he hadn't said…?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""A millennia?" He looked at Myrrh, or the Great Myrrh as Saleh had just called her. This child surely couldn't be a millennia old. That was impossible! That meant she would have seen what they called mythology being formed, she would have seen terrible wars and the rises and falls of monsters… Yet she looked like a child no older than six or seven. He knew there were some extraordinary superpowers out there but this was quite frankly impossible./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I am one thousand and three," said Myrrh into a pink wafer biscuit that had been shaped like a wing, "I have lived before the village was made but I spent most of my life there. I saw Saleh when he looked just as old as me. He wore horrible dungarees."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"It was Knoll's turn to stare at her. She too had kept her voice down but the way she had said it all so matter of factly. This seemed like no childish fantasy. The maturity in her voice, the intelligence in her stare… Somehow he could believe this small girl was a thousand years old. Somehow it was just so easy to believe. If he could resurrect an Ancient Greek warrior (an accident, honestly) then it somehow didn't seem so farfetched that this girl could be a millennia old. Still, he struggled to think of what to say./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""It must have been very boring to…to be the same village for so long."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Sometimes," Myrrh replied, "But the people were all different. I do like the city though, there's more new things here than I have seen in a long while."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""We are experiencing city culture," Saleh informed Knoll, "An old friend of mine has compiled us a list of books and DVD disks that we should partake in to understand popular cultural references. We have film nights once a week and read a great deal. It is intriguing what the minds in cities come up with."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Knoll wondered what Saleh and Myrrh were watching and reading to learn about popular culture. Hopefully not the Magvels' Mightiest magazine… an advert on a screen behind the till caught his eye. A lot of rubbish, not worth the glossy paper it was printed on. /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I also have a job in academic journalism," Saleh added. Knoll sat up straighter in his seat in surprise. Saleh had received awards for his dissertation and been told he had a bright future in academic writing. It was good that he had managed to make a career out of his talents. Knoll could scarcely imagine what it was like to have a normal job, or a job without Lyon at least./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Congratulations." He gave a small smile into his spoon as he tried the vanilla ice cream on top of his milkshake./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""My main job is to look after Myrrh," Saleh reminded him, "That is my appointed task as it has been in my family for generations. I merely must have funds to support us."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"That added up, Knoll thought. It explained why Saleh had to vanish off back to his village regardless of his prowess. Tradition did often overcome achievement/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Still, it's an achievement worth congratulating," he replied, "Having an academic job must be great."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""It is interesting." Saleh seemed to contemplate his own milkshake for a while before picking up his spoon./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""How is your career? Are you still living alongside your, what was he, cousin?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"To keep Knoll's other life a secret they had taken to calling Lyon Knoll's cousin in conversation to explain why they lived together and Knoll was always vanishing off to look after him. People had been under the impression he studied at home because he was a carer rather than a superhero. Sometimes Knoll wondered if they were right but put the matter from his mind for now./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Nothing much has changed in my life," he replied, "Lyon's on another dangerous low again, too dangerous even for another holiday. This must be the first time I've been out the house in what, two weeks? We get our groceries delivered these days."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""That doesn't sound entirely healthy," Saleh pointed out, "Your cousin's life seems like somewhat of a downward spiral and he's likely to take you with him. I still don't quite understand why you joined forces with him, but I trust your judgement."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Once he was, how to put it, eminspirational/em," Knoll murmured, keeping his voice low as he swirled his spoon in his milkshake to mix the melting ice cream in. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Myrrh, far from being bored, had taken out a copy of "The Twelve Crusaders and the Lopt Dragon", a semi-historical picture book he'd once read as a child. He focussed his attention on Saleh once more./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;" "He didn't let what people thought of his abilities stop him. He was so keen to be a hero, and believe it or not we saved as many, if not more, lives than were lost through our efforts. We didn't care if we didn't get the credit. Lyon knew people would label him a villain and carried on regardless… but now…" Knoll's gaze flickered to the television on the wall where another advert for Magvel's Mightiest played./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""He's distracted by the Twin Heroes just as before," Saleh remarked over his spoon, "And he values their words so highly he doesn't hear yours."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""He's got such an innocent heart," Knoll sighed, "He becomes passionate about things so easily and that's why he gets hurt. After not having seen them for so long, he confuses his friends with those idols he sees on the television… so he pursues both with all the enthusiasm he once held for our research."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""You are extraordinarily loyal," Myrrh commented from behind her book, "I've never met a good person with such a dark aura before. I suppose occasionally powers do not dictate the sort of person who uses them."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"The seriousness in her voice was still very disconcerting. No one reading a picture book, whilst eating a pastel coloured sundae shaped like a Pegasus, should speak like that. Myrrh ate the marshmallow horn of the Snowy Pegasus sundae and glanced at Knoll over her book. He hastily looked away./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Still," Saleh filled the awkward silence, "I believe you may appreciate this next offer. I worry often about Myrrh getting bored cooped up in our house. My sources say that joining a group activity is a good way to integrate yourself into an urban environment, therefore I have signed up to an Adults' and Children's arts and crafts club. Would you like to attend with us? We will be taking classes every Tuesday evening. Next week there shall be something called 'decoupage'. They say they supply the materials."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Knoll couldn't remember the last time he'd been invited anywhere. Lyon's suggestions of missions didn't really count because he came up with the plan as much as Lyon did and they never went to any organised events. This however did sound like a thing he should be turning up to every week. What if Lyon needed him one Tuesday evening? Then again, it meant he could see Saleh at least once every week and that was certainly a change for the better. Saleh made it sound like Myrrh wasn't the only one who was being cooped up in a house, or perhaps that was just how Knoll was interpreting his words because he knew it to be true. He couldn't lie to himself, he wanted to go. Yet what if Lyon needed him? Lyon wasn't actually doing anything at the moment and due to his lethargy, was unlikely to anytime soon but- He felt so selfish but he really did want to spend more time with Saleh./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I'll come…where does it take place?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Lyon could forgive him. He could mind himself for an evening a week, he was an adult. Knoll reminded himself as Saleh took out a piece of paper from his wallet and handed it over. It contained the address of a community hall and the time to arrive: nine thirty pm./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""If you tell me the location of your house, I can drive you there," Saleh added, "If you want to keep that a secret however, I understand."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""It's fine," Knoll assured him, "I don't think you would leak our location to anyone with bad intentions."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I wouldn't."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Knoll took a pen from the pocket his cardigan. Saleh offered him another piece of paper like the one with the hall's address. He was always so organised. Knoll wrote down his address and handed it over./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Do you want directions?" Knoll took note that his ice cream had finally managed to melt. He sipped the milkshake, it wasn't bad./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I now have a device in my car that gives me directions, but thank you for the offer," Saleh tucked the card into his wallet, "I look forward to spending more time with you."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""As do I," Myrrh chipped in, "I want to know how someone can resist the allure of a dark aura like you apparently do."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Knoll wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not so merely nodded in thanks. /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Their conversation took on a less serious note from that point onwards. Well, Saleh was always rather formal but they no longer talked about dark auras and arrangements, instead moving onto the topics of shops, food and the weather. Apparently most of what Saleh and Myrrh used to buy came from their village market so they were adjusting to shopping centres and large supermarkets. Knoll recommended some places that were affordable and some foods he reckoned they should try. He even offered to bring them some home-baked cakes. (Something he regretted almost as soon as he'd said it. Only Lyon ate his cooking, what if other people didn't like it?) He changed the topic by trying to make conversation with Myrrh. She remained frighteningly mature but she seemed more human when she discussed her favourite things from the city: pet cats, post-boxes and scented felt tips. /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"After finishing their ice cream or milkshakes they left to look about the town centre. Though, according to Saleh, he had been here multiple times whilst at university, he insisted Knoll gave them a tour so they knew their way around 'properly'. Knoll of course was happy to oblige and didn't realise how long he had spent walking around the district centre until his cardigan started proving inefficient against the evening chill./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""I should go back," he said as they left a branch of J-hanger. (Why did clothing stores have to have such cringe-worthy names? Knoll had always wondered. Still they did good cardigans.) Saleh nodded in response./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Farewell then. I will see you Tuesday?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Yes," Knoll replied, "I look forward to it. Goodbye then."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Goodbye!" called Myrrh as he turned about in the direction of the bus stop. She sounded a lot more like a child when she made a great deal of noise. He wondered if Lyon would like to know about her and Saleh. Perhaps he could meet them and have more people in his life that weren't upon the television. He hadn't seemed very interested last time Knoll had attempted to tell him about Saleh. He had listened politely enough but he hadn't said much afterwards. Thinking about it, Knoll realised he would probably get home to see that nothing had changed. Lyon would probably be watching those cartoons on the internet about real life superheroes again. Perhaps he would be making clothes for his dolls, not really caring that he, Knoll, had really been out./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Knoll stared at his own knees through the entire bus journey. Being out like this made him wonder what he could be doing if he didn't live with Lyon. He hated the thought of course. Who else would be there for Lyon if he wasn't? Lyon was all alone in the world, he had been since his father had died for a second time. Lyon needed him or his life truly would fall apart. Yet, it didn't hurt to think of alternatives did it?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"Prepared for nothing to be amiss, he entered the house and descended into their base. The hub was just as dark as usual. Only a single monitor remained on and in front of the central console was Lyon, typing furiously at something Knoll hoped wasn't another fan fiction. The hero turned as Knoll approached. To his side kick's astonishment, he was smiling./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;""Knoll, I have a plan!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;" /p  
hr /  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;" /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.556001663208008px;"For superhero costumes designs, previews and other related nonsense, check my tumblr. My url is squishymagesquad and this fic has its own tag for everything relating to this AU. /p 


	3. Second Edition

No, this was impossible. This couldn't happen. Knoll had known Lyon since they were children and this simply did not occur by itself. Lyon's episodes of inactivity, perhaps even depression, took weeks to recover from, sometimes even months. He never managed it by himself. Returning his motivation was a long and complicated procedure full of walks around parks, holidays, and a lot of pointless reading. He had been in his current state for three weeks so Knoll had assumed they were approaching the lowest point as per usual. However Lyon was grinning, genuinely too, it was the sort of smile that met his eyes. How had he pulled himself out his slump? How had he raised himself from his lethargy without Knoll being there, without the long and gradual process they always had to go through? Any other person, not that anyone else cared, would think this a cause for celebration. However after knowing Lyon for over ten years, Knoll was almost frightened by this transformation. He knew Lyon's moods and behaviours like the back of hand. This was unnatural and he needed to get to the bottom of it. He needed to understand and quickly, however he couldn't hurt Lyon's feelings. It was best to just learn what this plan was and go from there.

He assumed a stool beside Lyon's and asked:

"What have you decided?"

Lyon picked up the remote and made four more monitors light up. They each contained a separate map or floor plan. Knoll squinted through the sudden burst of light and saw a location he recognised.

"Isn't that Rausten Cathedral?" He looked at the other three plans, one was a road map of the surrounding area, the other two were unfamiliar building plans.

"Yes!" Lyon pointed at the floor plan of the cathedral, "This is where we're going. More specifically, this is where the people we're after are going before we head there."

"A mission?" How had Lyon picked up a mission? They no longer had access to the police communicators, he'd recalibrated the recognition software to pick up his heroes names and not relevant crime scenes. What happened whilst Knoll was out?

Lyon activated two more screens. On them Knoll saw drawings of what looked like an ornate gold chest. It had the symbol of the Church of Latona on its lid, the star studded staff was hard to miss. They were drawings rather than photographs, which was slightly odd, however there was no doubt that whatever that chest was or contained, it was valuable.

"Today I did a bit of researching," Lyon murmured, lighting up another screen. This one just seemed to be a list of incomprehensible numbers. Knoll stared at it. By the way it was organised, dates? But what seemed to be recorded were merely numbers too.

"A year ago we became aware of the Rausten Record Chambers, a hidden archive under the cathedral."

"We also discovered their security systems are tighter than most banks'," Knoll reminded him. The Rausten Record Chambers were an enigmatic treasure trove, but one they would not dare explore. As their powers were so dark and death-orientated, the church had considered them sinners even before they had attempted to make a difference with their abilities. They preached against the foul forces in this world, regardless of whether they were used for evil or not. It was no secret that between them, he and Lyon shared a distaste for such religion. They had tried once or twice to defy them, to defile a few monuments, but that was far as they dared go. The church had their own forces, not labelled heroes, but what they used were definitely unnatural powers. Usually they had no problem with light, but the light magic the holy heroes used hurt like inch thick needles penetrating their skin. They learned to stay away from the records after that.

However, once again it seemed the Rausten Record Chambers had proved too alluring to be avoided. What had Lyon found that could drive them to infiltrate such a place? What was it they were going to claim, or someone else was going to claim for them? Lyon had mentioned someone else going in before them. It was a good tactic to let them deal with the holy men and then do whatever Lyon planned afterwards.

"This," Lyon pointed at the drawings of the chest, "Is the Arc of Latona. It supposedly predates the cathedral itself, as does its contents, however that is a lie. I believe some of its contents may be akin to relics, but it has a great deal more use than the tourist guide wants to tell us."

"So it contains something they want to hide from the public eye," Knoll concluded, drawing his stool in closer. Lyon was looking rapturously at the screen with an enthusiasm Knoll had dearly missed. It was so good to see him happy, and though it was mysterious, the sight became less shocking the more pleased Lyon seemed. It didn't matter why he was so happy right at this moment, it was just good that he was.

"This drawing," Lyon continued, "Is of the real Arc of Latona, not the fake they put out for tourists. It is guaranteed to be located in the Rausten Record Chambers and it is not only a prime target for thieves but it contains something worth more to us than that entire cathedral put together."

"To us?" Knoll queried, Lyon was making it sound like they were going to rob this place.

"It's official name is the Kept Records of Fiends, or as it's known in fables, the Demonicon. Since records began the church has listed those with our type of powers, making them seem monstrous, painting them as fiendish denizens of Hell… Yet every man and woman in there was once a hero or villain like us. I have a plan to read that book to learn about who and what came before us. To understand why people hate us, we need to know what came before us to give them such preconceptions. That book will tell us."

"That is a brilliant idea," Knoll began, "However are you suggesting we rob the cathedral? Learning about the past is not worth committing any crime."

Lyon actually laughed. Knoll wished he could take a photograph or somehow preserve this moment. His need to discover what had cheered Lyon up returned with greater strength, but it seemed Lyon was not done yet.

"We aren't going to commit any crimes," Lyon replied, "It just so happens that there will be an attempt on the Arc of Latona tomorrow night by a gang known as Galeforce. They made some public threats to the cathedral staff, it was all over the news. They're confident to the point of arrogant that they can get the Arc. I believe them."

"So you're going to let them steal it," Knoll concluded, "And then take it off them and return it?"

"Yes, we can return it a few days later after we have fully scanned the Demonicon. We wouldn't really be stealing it, merely borrowing it for a while."

"I see." It was a good plan and avoided any horrible encounters with holy men. There was one question however that Lyon had failed to answer.

"When would we return it?"

"Tuesday evening," Lyon said simply, "The cathedral has its Family Worship and Praise choir evenings on that day. All focus will be on the main hall, it will be easy to sneak round and leave it somewhere in the bowels of the cathedral, we won't go into the records."

"At what time?" Knoll was reluctant to ask. He didn't know how well Lyon would react to him meeting with Saleh again so soon and potentially missing out on their plan. However he wasn't sure how Saleh would feel if he skipped out on their arrangements to go and return a stolen box. He didn't want to disappoint either of them but if they had to return the box on that evening… what choice did he have?

"The event starts at six thirty," Lyon informed him, oblivious it seemed to Knoll's tension, "Which mean we warp in at twenty-five to, leaving us with two hours to leave the Arc and warp out of there. What's more worrying is how we're going to stop Galeforce."

Knoll managed to restrain his sigh of relief. If it only took two hours at most, they should be back in time for him to change and leave with Saleh. However the course of their missions never ran smooth. As long as they kept zombies out the plan they should save some time, however dealing with religious types had always been a painful and rather lengthy set of experiences. Add first class thieves on top of that… Lyon better have some kind of plan.

The screens were all suddenly filled with the road map, on it were marked the cathedral and a road had been highlighted in red.

"The chest is supposedly iron with wooden and golden ornamentation on every side," Lyon explained, "It is going to be heavy. A theif couldn't just go in there, pick it up and run off over the rooftops unless they've got super strength the like of which no one has seen before. They're going to need mechanisms, several people and a vehicle to get the Arc away."

"However we can just warp it home between us," Knoll finished, "We have to be careful not to burn the street with dark energy or people will suspect us of being involved with Galeforce. We need to work out what route they'd take so we can intercept them whilst remaining unseen."

"I've already begun." Lyon picked up a ruler off the desk and pointed it at the screens.

"This is the area around the cathedral. Being a religious establishment, it's heavily guarded. There are more cameras there than in the district centre, which is where this main road actually leads." He pointed at a long road that shot off the side of the map.

"The other main road leads to the University of Magvel," Knoll pointed out, "If students are using it, there also ought to be cameras. Which means they are going to need a back route big enough to fit a reasonable sized vehicle down…"

He stared at the map and focussed on the red line that it looked like Lyon had added. That was part of the one way parking system around the town centre, they couldn't possibly use that one for their getaway without causing a large traffic jam. However there were other roads not marked off, so was Lyon trying to work out which one the thieves would use?

He logged into the computer himself and selected his own screen. Pulling up a street view vision of the area he began to look through the streets he could see on the plan. He needed to find something large enough for a vehicle.

"They will use a car," Lyon added, "The Arc is too heavy and unbalanced for a motorcycle. It's probably also enchanted, they will want to move it carefully in a car or small van."

"Right, we need to know how large the average van or car is and use that to pinpoint which roads and alleys they can get down," Knoll opened up an internet browser, all thoughts of whether he could make his Arts and Crafts appointment gone for the time being. If this went well he wouldn't need to worry about whether he could attend his appointment or not because it would take less than two hours for them to get back from giving back the chest on Tuesday evening.

He began his research as Lyon began to mark off alley ways obviously too small to be driven down. This, this was how it used to be. He and Lyon, charting out areas, discussing the uses of their magic and never once considering that they might stop simply because people didn't like them. They were doing good, albeit with a slight detour in the middle, but all in all they were both knocking a notoriously evil gang down a bit and returning a stolen possession. They truly would be heroes. Knoll remembered how it had once been. Lyon sitting at the computers in full costume, exclaiming how much he looked forward to going out that evening, how he hoped to make the city just a little bit safer. He had been so motivated, so excited to do his part, to be like his adored Twin Heroes. There had been less merchandise about then admittedly. Knoll looked down at the mousemat and saw the faces of the Twin Heroes smiling back at him, looking determined and ready for action. He moved the mouse over one face and his wrist over the other.

He remembered the times before Lyon had any slumps. Ordinary heir during the day, crime fighting vigilante at night! He always smiled and laughed freely, he was quite frankly adorable. Knoll glanced at the figure sitting beside him. Lyon's smile, quietly determined, reminded him of those occasions too well. It wasn't the same but…he would settle for the closest he could get. He was still surprised that Lyon had managed to save himself from this one. When he had left this morning Lyon had been watching TV, idly playing with figurines whilst not doing much of anything. Now he was intending to take on an infamous gang who had never actually been sighted by police or heroes.

"Do you think we can take on Galeforce?" he asked Lyon, crossing off a few streets of his own, clearly only designed for pedestrians. There had to be a reason for this miracle, but if he mentioned Lyon's moods, who was to say he wouldn't revert? Knoll had to walk on egg shells here.

"With the element of surprise we won't have to," Lyon replied, "We ambush them, disable their vehicle, take hold of the Arc and warp away together. If they end up speeding away from us, we take fire, kill and resurrect one of their members so they can take control and bring the vehicle back to us, then the plan returns to normal."

"That is an excellent idea."

"Thank you," Lyon sounded even more cheerful. He span round on his stool to face Knoll, "I can't wait to be suited and booted once more. We'll prove to them… No one has ever caught Galeforce before and we shall. No one will expect us to try let alone succeed and we shall."

"Your confidence is inspiring." Knoll tried to sound a little less shocked than he felt. He evidently failed because Lyon narrowed his eyes at him and his smile faded a little.

"Is anything the matter?"

"Oh no, nothing," Knoll apologised with haste. He couldn't exactly say '_you are far too happy'_ without sounding cruel. Lyon continued to stare at him, smile slipping further as his eyes gained a disappointed look. Knoll hurried to amend what he had said.

"I was simply wondering what you did today to enable you to come with such a good plan."

"Oh, I was just watching the news," Lyon turned away, "I've been thinking about the Demonicon ever since the last time we researched. I am glad to finally have a chance to get my hands on it." He glanced at Knoll, his sweet smile back.

"Won't it be good to learn how to make ourselves socially acceptable?"

"Very much so," Knoll replied. That smile was a memento of forgotten days making daisy chains in the gardens or reading history books intended for those thrice their age. He had not seen that smile for years, regardless of highs and lows. Something was very wrong here, beautiful but very alarming.

"The Demonicon," Lyon sighed as Knoll considered contacting Saleh to ask for help. He had a fresh email open by the time Lyon said:

"Just think of it, forbidden information and records by the lorry load all in that one… Knoll!"

"Yes?"

"Lorry load!" Lyon suddenly exclaimed, he began typing furiously and suddenly a flashing green square appeared on their road map. It was beside an unmarked road.

"What is that?" Knoll asked.

"That is Lagdou Pizza," Lyon stated, excitement barely kept from his tone, "You know the place that remains open even though five people found spiders in their garlic bread and it smells like death in there?"

"I remember." Knoll wondered how he had forgot.

"Won't there be lorries or vans going to and from that place, bringing in ingredients and taking pizzas away?" Lyon didn't sound like he was asking, more like, coming to a conclusion. Knoll got it only a moment later.

"Galeforce will use one of their vans to get away with the Arc," Knoll checked the map, "That road hasn't got any cameras on it, and it'll take them away from the one way system. However that means, we need to stop them getting the Arc into the van quickly otherwise we might end up taking down dozens of identical vans to find the right one."

"That is a good point," Lyon mused, "That means we'll have to be right outside Lagdou Pizza. It'll be a gamble, if it proves that's not what they're using, we'll lose the Arc for good."

"Is there any other convenient disguise they could use?"

They ended up bouncing ideas back and forth for the rest of the evening and long into the night. This was how it always used to be. Ideas, hypotheses, research, experiments and usually dreadful results, that was how it had been, though increasingly less so over time. With every low point, Lyon lost a little of his imaginative flare and scientific intrigue. When he had regained some sense of purpose he didn't seem as enthusiastic as he once had. Yet here and now Knoll was presented with a fresh faced Lyon who looked like he had never cried a week away or wandered the streets at night wondering where his friends had gone. It was good but it wasn't right. The more he saw and heard the greater Knoll's worry became. Before he turned in for the night he sent a quick message to Saleh in the hopes he had something wise to say on the matter. However Saleh knew nothing about their home life and what he did was from a year ago… Lyon had changed since then.

He slept uneasily that night and regretted it the following day. That night they would take on Galeforce and he needed all the rest he could get. It didn't help that Lyon was acting like a child who had been told he could have two Christmases. Well, he was acting like he used to do at Christmas, he was hurrying everywhere, unable to sit down. He was in full costume, which was admittedly not something he did at Christmas, however he was running round with boxes and packages as if their monitors had become the fairy lights of one giant tree. After eating dinner, Knoll returned to his room to confront the heap that was his sidekick outfit. He still hadn't cleaned out the holy water yet so who knew what the magic could end up doing. Probably explode based on what happened in Paris.

He had nothing against Lyon's outfit designing skills. In all fairness, Lyon had let him specify what he didn't want his outfit to contain. However that had obviously not been as constraining to Lyon's imagination as he'd hoped. He changed into his cargo shorts with a small sigh. He had assumed Lyon understood by the fact he never wore tight clothing that he would prefer his sidekick outfit to be on the baggier side. Lyon clearly hadn't. He slipped on his lycra-blend top and quickly added the sleeveless puffer jacket to avoid the sight of his own chest made purple. Raising his hood and slipping on his mask he went to look for Lyon. Maybe due to the cold weather, his hero would wear something more than tiny shorts this time. Knoll didn't want him catching a cold and it would be practical, though less impressive, for him to wear trousers on this cool autumn evening.

So of course he wasn't.

"Shall we?" Lyon spun on his heel, his cape fluttering about him as he headed towards their appointed warp zone.

"Yes, let's hurry."

As they packed themselves into the broom closet they referred to as their warp room, Knoll pulled his hood down over his eyes, his mask insufficient for what he knew came next. Lyon's hands were small and soft, a little cold where his nail varnish met Knoll's palms, but all in all just as he remembered them. He wrapped his fingers over Lyon's loose fist as they took their stance for warping. Lyon's eyes remained on the ground whilst Knoll focused on the gemstone they had fixed to the ceiling.

"Ready?"

"Yes my hero,"

There was a flash of white light, the smell of burning fruit, and a distinctly unpleasant feeling at the back of Knoll's throat. In mirrored motions, they took flasks from their belts and downed half the contents. Magic was very dehydrating, especially that as powerful as a warping, however they needed to save their water for any other powerful spells they would use tonight.

They had appeared in a dingy looking back street. The pavement was sticky with gum, bird waste and spilt cans of indistinguishable liquids. The road was cobbled but drivable, the bollards that marked its start and finish had been sunk into the ground to allow for the trade of Lagdou Pizza and the surrounding equally disreputable businesess. Knoll wrinkled his nose as the smell of death and artificial cheese wafted from the back door of the take away joint. He wasn't going to be able to look at a pizza in a while. Instead he began marking out the most pleasant places to lurk in this dark recess of town.

"I can sense quite a lot of death," Lyon whispered as Knoll tried to ignore the stench of a nearby dumpster, "We'll have reinforcements if need be."

"I can only sense animal remains." Knoll decided against the dumpster for the sake of their lungs. Instead he cast his gaze on the roof tops. There was a sky light on one of the buildings to the left, they should have a firm footing beside that.

"There's an intact human buried under the house three to your left," Lyon replied, "And another two houses down from me. Not enough I know, but if we work together we can extend the field downwards and we'll undoubtedly find more."

"Let's get onto the roof," Knoll suggested, "We'll have a better scope of the area from there."

"Yes, let's."

With another flash of white light, unnoticed by the busy kitchen below, they appeared on the roof above where they had previously been standing. Knoll could see the great lights of Rausten Cathedral from here. Spotlights, like those of a movie premiere, stood as pillars in front of the great marble entrance, casting the symbol of Latona in changing hues upon the stonework. Like all Rausten buildings, the cathedral, the boarding school and the mansion on the hill, it was unapologetically gaudy. Knoll wrinkled his nose, not from the ever present smell, but at the thought of such excess dedicated to religious means. Money was dangerous but to give it to mad people who would kill them in an instant, that was lunacy.

"Right, next step," Lyon murmured, "I'll set up the beginnings of our detection perimeter whilst you look out for helicopters. Then you take over and I'll focus on that pizza place."

"Indeed." Knoll set his gaze skywards, looking about for any odd flashes of light in the night sky. Apart from the cathedral he could see the rhythmic glow of the advertising in the Tellius District. They had towers far larger than any in Magvel and on a clear night like this he could almost make out the logos and lettering from here. He turned away to focus on the town centre. He saw a blip of blue round the district's tallest structure.

"There's something hovering round the VBC, however it seems too late for news helicopters."

"Colour?" Lyon asked as he focussed on the street below, waving his index fingers before him in lopsided figures of eight.

"Blue, flashing white I think," Knoll kept his eyes fixed on the broadcasting tower, "Only the one light… no wait, two lights. One blue one white!"

"A fight then," Lyon concluded, "They should be too wrapped up in what they're doing to care for us. Let's hope it gets out of hand, we'll have the police distracted."

"There should be more police around the cathedral surely?" Knoll almost got caught in the face by Lyon's flapping cape. The wind had picked up, not something he had foreseen in his rooftop suggestion admittedly.

"I think they're inside," Lyon replied. Darts of dark purple energy left his fingertips and streaked down into the street below like two errant fireworks.

"Take care of the perimeter, I need to count the vans."

They assumed new positions. Knoll carefully mapped the distance between the two dead men Lyon had sniffed out and used what little remained of their existence to create a trap across the street. Any slight trace of magic, not their own of course, to cross their barrier was an immediate blast of dark energy away from discovery. It required a lot of concentration however. Knoll estimated these bodies were probably in the foundations of the buildings, making them at least fifty years old. That was a perfectly easy space of time to deal with but… getting the magic through the concrete certainly wasn't. This may be a dump of a road but its foundations were commendably solid.

"Knoll!" Lyon called under his breath.

"Please give me a moment I'm almost done with-"

"Knoll, l- Oh holy Holsety, they're _flying_!"

Knoll wasn't given any time to stop his enchantment or even duck. Lyon grabbed him and used his full weight to knock him onto the roof tiles. The bolts of energy, once intended to soar in graceful arcs like Lyon's, fell to the ground like glowing stones and exploded in great clouds of acrid smoke, filled with leaping purple sparks like a contained yet malevolent storm. The flying car, a murky green old banger with the Lagdou Pizza logo on the side, came screeching down the street, levitating about a metre off the ground. Knoll saw a glint of gold from their back seats just as Lyon cried

"Get them!"

Three things happened in very short succession. Galeforce noticed them and reacted with a deluge of fire from their passenger side window. Lyon had then responded, seemingly on instinct, with a great bolt of combined destruction and resurrection magic, the sort that would kill then return the Galeforce members under their control. Thirdly, the Galeforce members crossed the incomplete barrier.

On instinct, Knoll grabbed Lyon and rolled out of harms' way. The Galeforce members weren't so lucky. One managed to abandon their vehicle but was soon consumed as the rest crashed and became a great pillar of red flame. As Knoll peered over the guttering, sheltering the shocked Lyon, who stared wide-eyed at the carnage. The figures in the carriage, who had evidently been hit by the resurrection spell tried to get up, however the fire consumed them and they were reduced to ashes. However soon they were trying to get up once more and a horrid cycle of resurrection and burning began right before their eyes. The car was gone, it had exploded on impact, destroying the exposed side of the take away shop. Now the crumbling forms of men and women were stumbling out of the back of Lagdou Pizza. Burning then resuming their step, burning then continuing to walk through the wreckage.

The blare of police sirens could be heard on the wind before the flashing blue and red lights could be seen on the horizon.

"Lyon, we have to get out of here." Knoll urged as Lyon lay there staring at the constant cycle of death and rebirth in the flames beneath him. His mouth was open as if in a silent gasp as the screaming men and women burned to ash before being silenced and then made to scream anew.

"Lyon, we have to move. The Arc is no doubt destroyed! We must go!"

"The Demonicon… is lost." The bloody fire was reflected in Lyon's wide eyed stare. The sirens were drawing closer. They could not remain here!

"Lyon, we have to go!" Knoll offered his hand to his hero, helping him to his feet. They arranged themselves to warp away just as a new shadow darkened the sky. There was a loud flapping like that of a very large cape. Knoll saw a glint of gold on white as their vanishing flash was obscured by the smoke.

As soon as they returned home, Lyon burst free from the closet and sprinted in the direction of his room. Knoll watched him go, giving him a head start and taking the time to put on the vents before chasing after him. He cast his mask onto the coffee table in the central hub before pursuing Lyon towards their bedrooms. Lyon seemed to have warped into his room for Knoll couldn't see hide nor hair of him as he entered the corridor that contained their personal spaces.

"Lyon?"

He ignored the Magvels' Mightiest door hanger and tried the door knob. He twisted it fruitlessly as he heard sobbing from behind the door. Lyon was crying. Lyon had been so happy earlier, as if everything was looking up and now –

"Lyon, let me in!"

He heard Lyon move away from the door and had no way to know what he was doing in there. He knocked so hard that the flimsy door hanger clattered to the ground.

"Lyon, you're upset, let me in!"

He heard a particular loud cry and he hammered the door harder.

"Leave me alone!" Lyon wailed, "Go away!" There was a stumbling sound, a loud click and a definite thump. Knoll could only imagine that he had fallen over something or tripped on a cable. He felt panic well up in his chest and his breathing grew laboured as if that fire sought to fill his lungs with ash from afar. Lyon's mood had flipped a full one hundred and eighty degrees. This morning he was euphoric, this evening he was distraught. Sure Knoll had tided Lyon through many bad times but he had never heard his hero sob before… Usually Lyon sat in their lounge with a cold sort of numbness after a failed mission. He would stare at the carpet, play with a toy, then end up going to bed early. Yet now… He was mood-swinging far too rapidly for Knoll's liking.

There was a moment of silence before Knoll heard Lyon again. He seemed to be trying to speak to himself through his sobs.

" I under-understand now… I'm not strong enough for them to ever like me! I can't be strong enough on my own like this."

Knoll tried the door knob again but it merely rattled against its lock. He stood there, staring at the woodwork as Lyon cried within. He could call out to him again. He could beg to come in until Lyon could refuse him no longer. He could tell Lyon that he would always be there when Lyon needed him. He could explain that he cared, he wanted to be beside Lyon, to be his friend and not his butler, counsellor, whatever he was! He could hold Lyon, and reassure him that there would never be another pure-hearted hero like him. He could…but what use would it be? He had lost count of his every attempt, his every turn at comforting his hero. Every occasion had proved as fruitless as the last. Lyon simply did not want to hear it from him. Lyon didn't need him and if he didn't get who he needed…

"Lyon, talk to me," he begged through the keyhole, "Please let me in, we can talk."

"What good has talking ever done!" Lyon exclaimed, "Leave me be! I've…I've had a long day!"

"If that's what you wish."

Knoll turned from the door and walked towards his own room with an uneasy mind and heavy heart. He stopped halfway down the corridor and considered turning back. Before this moment, he had selflessly dedicated himself to Lyon's cause. Never considering just turning his back and letting his partner weep alone in his room. He was so being despicably selfish for even thinking of turning from Lyon's side. Yet he still didn't know what to do. If he continued to coddle Lyon at every opportunity then he could only see three paths set out before them, whatever the outcome of tonight.

The first possibility was that nothing would happen because of his actions as per usual. Lyon would pine and sink lower and lower until something awful happened. Knoll had feared this downward spiral for a long time and it seemed every more likely now Lyon was crying.

His second terrible idea was that Lyon would get fed up of him and do something reckless. He would run out and try and get the twins' attentions in the most dangerous way possible. This would lead at best to imprisonment and at worst, death. No one else in the district had powers like theirs'. They would undoubtedly get blamed for tonight's events.

Thirdly and lastly, there was always a chance Lyon would find all the newspaper clippings, powdered medication and self-help guides Knoll had stashed away in his study. Knoll could not anticipate his reaction but he knew it wouldn't be positive. Lyon was trying to stand on his own two feet and if he knew how much Knoll had been propping him up behind the scenes. He wouldn't be best impressed.

All in all… Knoll didn't know what to do. He entered his own room and sat on his bed, removing the terrible jacket and shirt in favour of his nightshirt. He picked up his phone from the bedside table and saw Saleh had sent him a text. Ah yes, he had told Saleh about Lyon's inexplicably good mood. Well he guessed he should update Saleh on this new frightening development. Best to read Saleh's response first though… There were four messages waiting for him.

**Dear Knoll.**

**I received your email however Myrrh has taken over the computer to research something she calls Neo-pets. My friend Gerbil however has taught me to communicate with text messages. I think Lyon's sudden cheerfulness is very strange considering what you have told me. Be watchful.**

**Best wishes.**

**Saleh**

**Dear Knoll,**

**My friend is not called gerbil. His name is Gerbil. I thought I would clear that up.**

**Best wishes.**

**Saleh**

**Dear Knoll**

**My friend is not called gerbil. Why must this device convert his name into gerbil? I do not understand. His name is G.E.R.I.K. However that is one name without the punctuation.**

**Best wishes.**

**Saleh**

**Dear Knoll.**

**A matter has come up which I wish to discuss with you as an issue of importance. I understand that you are undoubtedly stressed over your hero and I would not put any more burdens upon your shoulders. However you are the one I trust most in this matter and I would dearly like to speak with you about it. I would like to invite you round for tea after our meeting at the arts and crafts society on Tuesday. If it is too much for you, I understand that and will not bother you with this personal issue of mine. You however are the one I desire to talk to most.**

**May your dreams be peaceful as the dragon slumbers.**

**Saleh**

Knoll fell back on his bed, partially dressed and trembling. His phone fell onto the bed and remained there, glowing a moment longer before fading all to black. Knoll stared at where he knew the ceiling to be and clasped his hands tight within his nightshirt. Lyon needed him. Saleh needed him. Yet who did he go to when he just needed someone to unload his burdens upon?


	4. Empowerment

Lyon had not left his room since last night. The breakfast tray full of all Lyon's favourites had vanished from sight, however Knoll had not seen him take it. Admittedly, he wasn't in a very good shape to notice things right now. Sleep was eluding him and he seemed to be constantly getting up and down to visit the coffee machine. He sat curled up in his hanging chair idly watching videos on his tablet. They proved little distraction as he tried to comprehend the situation at hand, let alone work out what he could possibly do about it. He had sent a text back to Saleh but he was evidently too busy to reply. He already had other friends to occupy his weekends with despite living here for such a short time. Knoll buried his face into the side of his chair. He didn't know how to help. He didn't know how to make Lyon feel better and he didn't know who to turn to in this time of need! He couldn't burden Saleh with his woes and interrupt his socialising. However, and he hated his cowardice for this, he didn't know anyone else. His life had been dedicated to Lyon yet now…

He wanted someone else to talk to. He wanted someone who would listen and offer him support. If he had that, in turn he could be that much better for those who relied on him. He was sure he had wished this before at some point, but now, this had become his second priority. The first was of course trying to find out how to make Lyon feel better. To do that he shouldn't just sit around idling, he should at least try something.

Knoll got to his feet and wondered if tidying up the central hub was a good idea. It probably wouldn't help Lyon at all but it would give him something to useful to do as he thought over his next strategy. The hub was rather hard to tidy. The whole design of the room consisted of playing with light and darkness as they so choose. That made it very difficult to see things like dust or finger marks though they hadn't worried about it much. They wiped down the surfaces as much as possible but they had never received guests who would judge their cleanliness anyway. No one had ever visited them. Not even the Twin Heroes knew where they lived.

Knoll decided to start with the most obvious source of mess: Lyon's chair. It was always jam-packed with Sol and Luna merchandise. Knoll wasn't quite sure where he got it all. Alongside the numerous styles of cuddly toys and dolls, there were figurines, comics, cushions and stickers everywhere. This fan nest, which was really the only way Knoll could describe it, was the most colourful thing in the room, possibly the base if you didn't count Lyon's Magvels' Mightiest bedcovers. The bright reds and blues were almost violent to behold amidst the dimness of the central hub. Knoll began to rearrange the many stitched faces and little plastic pieces of weaponry. He put the Sol plushies on one side and the Luna ones on the other. The cushions went at the back and the figurines got moved to the coffee table where they wouldn't be damaged. Knoll was considering giving them all a hoover, when he suddenly spotted a very familiar business card. Picking it up, he felt a swooping sensation somewhere in the vicinity of his chest.

The Blackstone Welfare Clinic! How could have he forgotten? The card even said they had experts to talk to and a friendly chatline. He took his phone from his cardigan pocket and rang the number on the back of the card. After a moment or so of dialling, he received an automatic message in an aloof female voice.

_The number you are calling does not exist. Please try typing the telephone number again or if this problem persists, contact your service provider._

Frowning, Knoll checked the number he'd dialled. Yes, it was exactly the same one as the card had. Perhaps a misprint? Grabbing his tablet, he knew he needed to find out the real number. He wasn't giving up on his chance to talk to someone just because of one faulty business card. This was his chance, and probably his only one at that. He opened up a new tab atop a recipe for rocky road and searched for the welfare clinic, typing in the full name and… Nothing

He added 'Magvel' to the search. He had been shown a few paving companies and masons from the Tellius District in his initial search so if he was more specific…

Still nothing.

He checked the online telephone directory. He scrolled through a local business registry. He found a somewhat dubious list of known medical establishments in Magvel. Sinking to the floor with his tablet clutched in both hands, he allowed the business card to drop uselessly to the floor. It didn't exist. How could the clinic not exist? Why would a company that doesn't exist have a business card? He tried ringing again and got the same automated response. He scowled at his phone. Great, another thing that made no sense! He had been hopeful for a glorious few minutes and now he was alone again with a distraught Lyon and a lorry load of worries.

Knoll sat in his chair and curled up, leaning against the side. He missed university. He never went to any lectures with any other students but he got to see Saleh once a week, if not more, so it felt like he was having a lot of interaction. He considered ringing Saleh and asking him what to do. However Saleh had other friends and no doubt didn't want to spend all his time with him… Knoll would hate to disturb his weekend. He lay there feeling useless. This must be how Lyon felt in his lethargic stages. It was horrible, the poor man… Why couldn't he do something about this! Something, anything, just… Lyon was in so much pain. He would do anything for a way out of this, any means at all. He wondered if Lyon thought the same.

"You look exhausted."

Saleh was right. He hadn't slept since Thursday evening and was running purely off worry and caffeine. However it was now Tuesday evening and Knoll would eat his own socks rather than miss a promised appointment. Talking of socks, in his sleep deprived state he hadn't managed to find a matching pair. One was a sensible navy colour and the other was a Sol themed sock of Lyon's. They were both blue but what had he been thinking? At least everything else he had on was fairly respectable. His loyal cardigan served to cover up how ruffled he looked and the shadows under his eyes could be blamed on the knitted hood.

"You do not have to attend this society with me," Saleh commented, "It is not essential, and we may talk another time. Do not wear yourself out on my account."

"No," Knoll murmured, "Please, I wish to be out of the house. "

"Would you like to talk later?" Saleh started up the car but kept his gaze fixed upon Knoll.

"Yes I'll…help you later, I promise," Knoll muffled a yawn, "If it's not too much to ask, may we stop at a petrol station so I may buy myself a drink?"

"Of course," Saleh glanced back to check if Myrrh was strapped in properly, "However, if you don't mind, I believe we should talk about you first of all."

After that rather ominous note, Saleh said little else on their journey even as they stopped to get a drink. Knoll felt as if he had both Saleh's and Myrrh's eyes upon him for the entire journey. This was of course impossible, because Saleh was driving, but still… He felt judged. Saleh would think badly of him because of his unmatched socks, scruffy hair and the dark bags under his eyes. The hood covered enough but he hated making a bad impression in front of Saleh. He'd probably never invite him out again! He probably had seemed too uncouth and desperate… Really, why had he begged to be let out the house like a dog who wanted a walk? Saleh would think he was unhappy in there and that would look badly on Lyon! He'd have to be on his best behaviour from now on so Saleh didn't think too badly of him.

He tried. Though his exhaustion-muddled mind he tried his hardest to look like a model citizen and a respectable friend to be seen with in public. He tried not to blink too much in the bright lights of the community hall. He tried not to wince at the insultingly bright tablecloths or under the stares of the numerous parents about. He stuck close by Saleh as they watched the decoupage tutorial and was happy that they had a table to themselves to work on, even if they had to make trips back and forth for materials. There was however free tea and coffee, which Knoll tried to greet with contained enthusiasm so he didn't look like he had become dependent on hot beverages. Instead he busied himself with small bits of paper and PVA glue.

"Hello Country Mouse!"

Knoll was startled whilst choosing what to decoupage by a loud female voice and a lot of jingling. He turned to see a woman with long red hair embrace a rather uncomfortable looking Saleh. She was a carnival of colour, with her baggy trousers and crop-top sporting a vibrant array of reds and pinks. The jingling came from her many rainbow bangles, round both her wrists and ankles. There were even golden bells on her earrings. He noticed she was getting a lot of dirty looks from the mothers about the room. Who was she? What relation was she to Saleh?

"Please, Tethys… you are suffocating me excellently. Please let go."

She let go and turned to inspect their little group. Knoll noted she wore bright red lipstick and a large smile. Before she could speak however, Saleh intervened.

"Knoll, this is Tethys, we met through a friend. She is in a relationship with Gerik, the one I mentioned after my phone turned his name to gerbil. She has a little brother named Ewan, undoubtedly that is why she is here."

He turned to Tethys, seemingly to introduce Knoll to her, however Tethys got there first.

"You move fast Saleh," she chuckled, "I never would have expected it of you. Where did you meet, the library? She stepped a little closer to Knoll who suddenly felt rather pressured despite the metre or so between them.

"He was my tutor at university," Knoll corrected. He had the distinct impression she was hinting at something that wasn't the case. He had seen enough cheesy romcoms in Lyon's down phases to know what might be happening here, but he couldn't accuse someone of doing that in real life.

"Ah," Tethys flicked her hair back with a jangling of bracelets, "Student-Teacher romance, how risqué."

"That is not the case," Saleh said hastily, "We are merely friends. How are Gerik and Marisa?"

"Oh they're fine. Gerik wouldn't touch this place with a curtain pole so he's out at the gym and Marisa's doing groceries. Ewan needs to spend more time around actual kids so I thought this place would be fun. Didn't know you'd be showing up though." She talked very quickly and gesticulated a lot. Knoll wondered what she for a living if she wore that. Was she in some kind of show and hadn't had the chance to change after work?

As she kept glancing at him, Knoll thought she didn't look entirely convinced that they weren't a couple, however Knoll was sure Saleh would dissuade her of that notion. Myrrh tugged on his sleeve and drew his attention back to the decoupage as Saleh and Tethys talked. Knoll decided it was best to let Saleh talk to his friends. He was trying to be a model companion after all. It was more important that Saleh spoke to the people he liked more and knew better. Instead, he helped Myrrh choose what she wanted to decoupage. They considered a door hanger for a while, however Myrrh took a liking to a tiara and they took that back to the table with them as well as a set of three bangles.

They started their decoupage together and Knoll just about managed to keep up conversation with Myrrh through his haze as they discussed colours and patterns for their little projects. He helped Myrrh locate aprons and together they decided to punish Saleh for being distracted by giving him the floral apron with cutesy rabbits on. Myrrh seemed happy enough and Knoll hoped he was doing a good enough job of making sure she was alright. He got her a drink of orange squash and helped her pick out all the colours she wanted from the trays up front. By the time Saleh had returned, they had started gluing.

"My apologies," Saleh said, accepting the bunny apron without comment, "I have not seen Tethys lately since she started performing in the Elibe district. She often has to stay there for it is an inconvenience to travel via the trams every day and they do not function on weekends."

"It's fine," Knoll replied, "We just got started."

Myrrh presented Saleh with her tiara ideas and they got started on what was apparently going to be the best tiara in the room. Knoll couldn't help but think of the circlet Lyon wore on his missions. Lyon would make wonderful things if he was here. He would decorate these bangles for Lyon in his absence; perhaps he would appreciate them if Knoll reminded him of his beloved heroes. First of all though, he needed a drink...

"You've had quite a lot of coffee haven't you?"

Just over an hour of crafts and three cups later, Knoll turned to see a woman with long blond hair standing beside him. Despite the weather, which was decidedly chilly, she was wearing a long flowing white dress with layers that seemed no thicker than Clingfilm... The symbol of Latona hung about her neck on a golden chain. Oh dear, a clergywoman. Knoll hoped she hadn't seen him on the rooftop the other day, though if she had, he'd probably be in prison.

"Sorry Miss," he murmured, "I can pay for it if you want."

"It's fine," she smiled at him, raising the fresh jug to pour him another steaming mug full, "You look like you need it. Has the week so far been unkind to you?"

"Something like that." Knoll couldn't help but wonder why she was talking to him. They had never met each other and quite frankly he looked a dreadful sight. He wouldn't approach himself if given that bizarre opportunity. He supposed she did seem like an organiser and therefore maybe she had to talk to everyone.

"I'm Natasha by the way, Sister Natasha of Rausten Cathedral." She offered him her hand. He took it with hesitance, letting go very quickly.

"I'm Knoll, just Knoll."

"If you don't mind me asking…" Now she was being hesitant. This must be the reason why she was conversing with him.

"Did you go to Serafew Primary when you were younger?"

Knoll blinked at her. He wasn't awake enough for this. He didn't recognise this woman at all so either she had grown up and changed a lot or he really was far too tired.

"Yes I did. I presume you did as well Sister Natasha. Forgive me for not remembering your face."

"That's alright," she sounded a little more eager now, "I was just wondering, I thought I'd seen you somewhere before. Didn't you leave a month or so before the Spring holidays in our last year? Where did you go?"

"Yes," Knoll replied, she clearly had a good memory for details, "Yes, I had to leave. Family matters. I ended up being home schooled after that."

"Ah I see." Natasha was looking over his shoulder. Knoll turned to see Saleh was staring at them from the glitter table.

"I hope to see you next week," Natasha said with a small smile, "We're painting pottery then."

"That sounds good." Knoll was very glad when she put the coffee pot down and wandered off in the other direction. He took his coffee back to the glitter table where he found Saleh and Myrrh puzzling over the bracelets he'd made. He frowned at them, wondering what was so confusing. He had applied decoupage to three cardboard-like bangles. The intention was to give them to Lyon as a gift so he had made one bangle red, one blue and the one in the middle purple. He had managed to make the Sol and Luna symbol out of glitter and it seemed that was what Saleh and Myrrh were befuddled about.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"How did you construct this?" Myrrh asked, pointing at the glitter trail on the blue bangle.

"I waited for them to dry then painted on the pattern in glue before applying glitter," Knoll explained. He noted that Myrrh had covered her tiara in more red and gold scraps of tissue paper.

"I can show you how," he offered. Myrrh nodded enthusiastically and handed him the tiara. As soon as Knoll touched it his hands were covered in glue.

"I think this needs to dry first," he commented, gently putting it back on the table, "I could show you on a piece of paper?"

As he looked round for a suitable piece of paper or card, Saleh gently picked up the soggy tiara between two fingers and balanced it on his other hand. He turned his back to the other tables, an action that drew Knoll's attention. What was he doing? Scrap of card in one hand, Knoll watched as Saleh raised his other hand, close to the tiara, but not touching it, and… Oh gosh.

Fire. There were tiny flames about Saleh's hand as if he had constructed a glove of them. If Knoll hadn't really being looking he would have missed them yet as he trod closer, yes, there were minuscule flames about Saleh's bare hand and they were clearly hot enough to dry the glue on the tiara. He had powers. Saleh had superpowers! This was extraordinary. Why hadn't Saleh ever told him before? He'd told Saleh he had powers when they were at university together, so why hadn't Saleh told him?

"That is what I wished to talk to you about," Saleh said softly as he handed Myrrh back her tiara, "I am not sure how it happened however I have been experimenting since my discovery on Saturday. It seems I have developed some sort of ability."

"You have," Knoll replied, the card had fallen from his hand in shock, "It's… we can talk about it later. I can help you. I've helped someone who has just come into their powers before." He didn't know why his heart was racing. For a moment he considered he may finally have had too much caffeine. Perhaps it was just shock though. Saleh must be a very late bloomer if he had only just come into his abilities. Most superpowers developed in adolescence alongside bodily changes. He and Lyon had been very unfortunate in getting theirs earlier than that but Saleh was definitely getting his very late. Knoll wondered what had triggered it. There was always a trigger for unlocking powers, usually something to do with the power itself. Had Saleh set himself on fire? He'd ask later.

He showed Myrrh how to make glitter patterns on her tiara. The last time Knoll had been this covered in glitter it had been when he and Lyon had hidden in a rather eye-opening night club. They'd stayed there for an hour or so, tried a few new drinks and Lyon had disappeared for a little while after saying something about a show. The police had never found them in the end so he counted it as a successful venture. Not that he should consider such things with so many children around, they couldn't read his mind but… Well he wasn't entirely sure whether Myrrh could read his mind or not because she always seemed like she was examining him. Better not think too deeply into that, being tired did lend itself to paranoia in most cases.

Knoll was dead on his feet by the end of the evening, however he had promised to talk to Saleh about his superpowers once they were finished. New powers were exciting but he was slowly losing the ability to do anything more than talk. He hoped Saleh wouldn't want to experiment straight away. He didn't think he had the energy to make any magic happen tonight. He was struggling to climb into the car but he didn't want Saleh to see so he sort of gave into gravity and fell into the passenger seat.

"Did you have an enjoyable evening?" Saleh asked Myrrh as he helped her into the car.

"I did," she stated with her odd formality, "Fewer people stared at my wings and no one asked any questions about them. The children were more interested in asking what it was like to have two fathers. They thought it sounded enjoyable. We should go back next week."

Knoll had been caught mid-yawn as she spoke and made an odd choking sound as he tried to gasp and yawn at the same time. Had everyone thought he and Saleh were a couple?

"What did you reply to them?" Saleh asked as he got into the car.

"I said I couldn't tell them what it was like because I could not draw a comparison."

"That is fair."

Knoll didn't know what to say and remained in that state all the way back to the luxurious-looking front garden of what turned out to be Saleh's house. It was a tall white affair with tiled steps leading to the entrance and a black door with an ornate looking gold knocker. It looked brand new and barely lived in, which was most likely the case Knoll thought in hindsight. Saleh's car, which was rather beaten from miles of travelling from the city to wherever it was he lived, looked very out of place before it on the neatly gravelled drive.

Saleh unlocked the door and ushered them both in. It smelt like new carpet and fresh paint inside the hallway and Knoll almost stumbled in his haste to remove his shoes. He felt as if touching anything would dirty it. It was all so pristine! Thankfully that changed when they entered the living room. Just like Saleh's study on campus, every single wall was stacked with books, not all of them on shelves either. His collection made the central hub look rather organised. There were piles upon piles of novels mixed in with reference books, the occasional DVD box scattered amongst the clutter. There was a large noticeboard hung beside the television, to it was pinned lists written in colourful felt tip pen. Knoll noted that they had crossed off classic horror films like 'The Woods' and 'Escape from the Twisted Tower'. He wondered if Myrrh was really old enough for such films but then again she was over a thousand years old, she must have seen some horrible things in her time. There were also animated films on that list like 'The Big-hearted Tiger' and a lot of foreign films, mostly Disney. Knoll wondered vaguely which of Saleh's other friends helped him make those lists. Was it Tethys or Gerik?

"I'm going to bed," Myrrh announced, as she wound her way round the piles of books with a practiced ease, "I'm going to clean my teeth first."

"Good night," Knoll managed. Saleh copied the farewell as he made his way past the sofa, an unnaturally clean confection of cream softness in the very centre of the room. Knoll had the feeling it might have come with the house. He stood awkwardly, wondering if Saleh was going to tell him it was alright to sit down. His legs felt like lead.

"I am going to provide us drinks, please, make yourself comfortable."

Knoll immediately did was he was told. He was gladdened by the sound of the kettle boiling from a nearby door, which evidently led into the kitchen. He could also hear running water from upstairs. Myrrh must be brushing her teeth before she slept. When had he last slept? Oh yes, Thursday. He almost groaned but caught himself as Saleh returned with tea.

Passing Knoll his mug, Saleh sat beside him on the sofa and proclaimed almost at once:

"It is evident that I have gained a superpower."

The fact he had not paused for a moment seemed to be indicative of anxiety or excitement, Knoll wasn't quite sure which for Saleh looked as stoic as ever.

"I think you have two superpowers," Knoll replied into his mug.

"Two?" Might be anxiety, the way he was looking at Knoll was akin to how he has during the day his final paper was in for his PhD.

Knoll nodded.

"I read the official guidelines a while ago. The police have a way of classifying heroes and villains in their system. Every known empowered person has a labelled code. You can be a single hero, with one power, a double hero with two… two is average though most people don't realise they have two. People with over four are very dangerous, people with five are generally turned into legends, and some reckon Latona was a sextuple heroine. Some of the monsters of legend were in fact sextuple or even sevenfold villains."

"What is your code?" asked Saleh.

"V, SK two, VMD, VUR," Knoll listed, "Lyon and I are classed as villains officially, so that's Villain's side-kick with two villainous abilities, dark magic and resurrection."

"And what would I be?" Saleh definitely sounded a little nervous. Knoll couldn't blame him. Having powers was an incredibly nerve wracking thing. You had to enter a whole new sub-culture of people. Your work and your education had to be wrapped round them regardless of whether you used your powers or not. Add to that the anxiety of blowing your cover or accidentally using your powers and hurting someone… Saleh had also just moved into the city. He should be pretty stressed right now.

"May I see your ability again?" Knoll asked, stifling another yawn behind his mug.

Saleh wordlessly raised his right hand and a small flame, no bigger than a gold piece, appeared above his palm. It grew larger in size, and then diminished, only to become larger again, pulsating like a beating heart. As Saleh frowned at it, it lifted into the air, almost rising to the ceiling before Saleh brought it down and extinguished it. It was rather beautiful to behold and so very curious to one whose powers were mostly death and destruction. That little flame had been created and not destroyed anything… Knoll felt almost sad when the fire went out, either that or his exhaustion was making him irrationally emotional.

"I think you have two powers," Knoll murmured, "Pyromancy and Telekinesis. I've met pure pyromancers before and they tend to burn down buildings in one blast – they have little control. Telekinetics can be very powerful and dangerous if they train up. You just have to learn to…" He yawned again.

"Separate your abilities. It took me a while."

"I see," Saleh was staring at where the flame had been. He still sounded a little lost and Knoll wondered if he had become the tutor for this occasion. He'd like that, teaching Saleh to thank him for all the wonderful mentoring he'd done before.

"What I don't understand," Saleh continued, "Is why I have obtained these abilities and why now? It is common knowledge that, on average, powers are gained between the ages of fourteen and twenty." He was right of course. However Knoll knew that by sitting here that the average wasn't always correct.

"I don't think age is the defining factor" Knoll wondered if he should dare explain his theory. This was nothing confirmed, merely his own speculation in the wee hours of the morning. However Saleh could find it interesting. Or at least he could find it feasible and not stupid, that was probably the best Knoll could hope for.

"I...I believe powers come with realisations so important you could call them epiphanies." He gripped his warm mug a little tighter as he spoke, "That is certainly how I came onto mine. I suppose yours developed when you came to realise something about your position, I cannot say."

"Perhaps," Saleh replied. He said no more leaving Knoll compelled to keep talking and fill the silence. He took a sip of his tea and continued:

"My powers emerged when I was ten which is dangerously early some might say. However it was not under usual circumstances."

Saleh was watching him now. Knoll knew full well he had never told Saleh much about his powers, only that he had them and that most thought him a villain because of their nature. Knoll didn't know how much he was welcome to say. He had only ever explained this once before and he wasn't quite sure to go about it without sounding stupid.

"Please, go on," Saleh prompted, "I'd like to hear it. I think… I'd like to know more about you. It would set my mind at ease."

If it would help Saleh then of course he would continue.

"I was ten," Knoll repeated, "You...you could say I was a rather isolated child. My mother was single and worked long hours, leaving me to amuse myself alone in the local library or shut myself in my room at home after school. I made all my own meals and took myself to school… I scarcely saw her so, so I would be very grateful if you excused me for what I am about to say next." Knoll glanced at Saleh in his hesitance. If he explained what came next he might sound awful and cold. However the last thing he wanted was for Saleh to think badly of him.

"I will not judge you." Saleh promised, giving a solemn nod over his drink. Knoll took a deep breath, inhaling the odd smell of the tea Saleh had given him. At first he had unquestioningly drank it, but now he thought about it, it was strange and rather relaxing.

"Well, when I was ten my mother passed away," he murmured, "She was involved in an accident at her workplace. There was a gas leak and a nasty accident occurred when someone lit up a cigarette. A policewoman and a lady from my mother's workplace brought me the news. It was the brightest spring day I could remember, and I sat and listened to those women so confused as to why the birds could be so loud outside and the sky so blue when I had found myself alone."

Knoll had only ever explained this to Lyon before. He had done it when Lyon had discovered his own powers, also haunted by death. Their discoveries and powers differed due to one key reason though, related to their untimely event of becoming empowered. It was a reason he was sure he would explain to Saleh in time.

"I'd only known about death in books and cartoons," he elaborated, "When people died in those the sky grew dark, the weather turned foul, the rain fell as if the heavens themselves were crying and everyone was miserable alongside the bereaved. But when my mother died, life went on. The day was beautiful, the neighbours carried on unknowing and uncaring. She didn't even get a funeral with a dark sky and people crying. There was no funeral. She had no family or friends apart from me."

"A harsh way to learn about the inevitable," Saleh commented as Knoll paused for breath. Knoll nodded solemnly.

"It was that night I realised death was nothing extraordinary. I was upset but as I stared through the window at the stars and they didn't go out in mourning, I realised death wasn't anything special after all. It affected nothing in the grand scheme of things. I wanted it to. I wanted people to cry with me, I wanted there to be a storm and I wanted the stars to go out. To my surprise, that was when they did."

"You put the stars out?" For the first time in his tale, Knoll saw something like an emotional reaction from Saleh. He had remained stoic throughout but now he sounded slightly disbelieving.

"I had produced a thick barrier over the window," he explained, "When I touched it, it felt like soap bubbles, but it was an ominous dark purple substance that began to rot away at the window frame. Curious, I began to experiment. The energy rotted away anything, could block out light, when it touched living things it hurt them but when it touched dead things it resurrected them… those were the foundations of my power."

"I see." Saleh now sounded genuinely interested. Knoll was rather surprised. This wasn't the tone he used to use when analysing reports, also why was he acting revolted like everyone else did when they were confronted with dark powers? Even as a child, he had wondered whether the ability to bring moths back to life and make them fly round his room made him a supervillain. He had done things with his powers that would make horror film makers tremble.

"Am I right in saying that Lyon gained access to his powers in the same way?" Saleh asked, "He accepted the inevitability of death?"

"Oh no," Knoll replied, he couldn't stop the sad chuckle that escaped him, "As seems to be the way with powers, there is always an equal and opposite set of powers to every ability pool out there and if all goes well, they join forces and unlock new potential within themselves. I've always believed Lyon was my perfectly partner. Lyon's powers came early too, when he was twelve. I was living in his household at the time and was there to witness the reaction."

"Lyon is of the Grado family. I have read that they the most powerful in the district before their patriarch's death," Saleh commented, "So how did you come to live with them? Of course if it's too personal I will not expect an answer from you."

Knoll shook his head. He sort of liked being the one to do the talking… he usually just listened but Saleh was being very patient with him. He was rather flattered and felt he owed Saleh answers for his kindness.

"Lord Vigarde owned the company my mother worked for. There was a huge scandal about employee safety when the accident happened. The papers got wind that the victim had left a child behind and Lord Vigarde had no choice to take me in before the press got to me."

"Of course. That meant you were raised in close proximity to Lyon?"

"We were fairly separate until Lyon came into his powers. Lord Vigarde knew about mine so he insisted we learnt how to use them together. He didn't understand out powers worked differently... As you've said, I gained mine through accepting the inevitability of death. Lyon unlocked his potential through refusing to accept it."

"Opposite yet equal," Saleh mused. Knoll nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"Lyon once had a flop eared rabbit, ironically named Ghost. She died when Lyon was twelve. Lyon held Ghost and stroked her in her final moments to ease her passing but when she died, he couldn't accept it. He apparently started crying uncontrollably and before he knew what he had done, Ghost was back. The first use of his power was resurrection, mine was to use dark energies, though we can both use each form, what we used first has always been our strongest ability. Between us, the Necromancer actively denies death whilst the Watcher allows death to come to pass …that's what we were, _are_."

"You don't seem very happy about it"

Knoll didn't really know how to reply. Was he unhappy with his situation? Why should he be? He lived with Lyon now and he tried to the best of his ability to make sure he would never cry again like he had with Ghost. He had already failed that. Lyon was undoubtedly crying at home over his twin heroes and here he was, talking about himself! He was being so utterly selfish just being here!

"I am happy," he replied, "Lyon is my partner and it is my fate to look after him. So that's what I'll always do. I'm pleased to do it."

He looked down at his own knees and an awkward silence fell upon the room. The entire house seemed to be still and quiet, no pipes gurgled or taps dripped. Knoll supposed it was a new house so it shouldn't have any faults. Not like the annoying flickering monitor in the left hand corner at home. He clasped his tea in shaking fingers. He was too tired. He just needed to close his eyes, just for one moment.

"I set fire to a tea towel."

Knoll was jolted awake just as he began to doze off by Saleh making a sudden announcement.

"Pardon?" he yawned.

"I set fire to a tea towel…" Saleh repeated, sounding a little awkward, "That's how I discovered I had powers. Not exactly a moment of philosophical discovery I know, but that's how it happened."

"I see."

They fell silent again. Knoll tried his hardest to remain awake but this sofa was ever so comfortable.

"Knoll?" Saleh seemed to have something against awkward silences, Knoll decided as he fought his own eyelids. He needed to keep his eyes open!

"Yes?"

"You look incredibly tired."

"I..." He couldn't really deny that. He felt as if he was steadily replacing his blood stream with that of strong coffee but even that wasn't working anymore.

"Would you like to stay here for the night?" Saleh straightened a few cushions, "I will occupy this sofa whilst you may make use my bed."

"No," Knoll yawned, "I couldn't. I should... should go home. I should already be home."

Suddenly it dawned on him and he hated himself for not thinking of it first of all. Exhaustion be damned, Lyon was home alone! He had been since nine thirty and goodness know how long he had spent at that society and then talking with Saleh. What if Lyon needed him? What if Lyon had been too upset to make himself an evening meal? What if he had actually wanted someone to talk to and Knoll hadn't been there for him?

"I should go back," he said, his voice gaining strength as he sat up a little straighter, "Lyon may need me."

"I doubt it," Saleh commented gently, "And in all honesty, you are not in a fit state to go anywhere." His tone was strict but Knoll could hear the kinder side to it now. That didn't mean Saleh was right however.

"But he might," Knoll protested, "And he's home all alone. What if he needs someone to comfort him? I should go home. If you don't want to take me back that's fine, I'll walk." He made to get up yet almost at once his knees gave way and he ended up sprawled back on the sofa with his head in the cushions.

"You're not in a fit state to go anywhere," Saleh repeated, "Sleeping is not an act of selfishness. Neither is acting on your own behalf for a change. You don't have to follow Lyon's wishes every hour of the day."

"He doesn't have anyone else," Knoll murmured into the cushion. He didn't feel like getting up even if he must. This sofa was just so comfortable and his eyelids felt like they had been weighted down.

"He doesn't have anyone else and if I'm not there… it would be like the world is giving up on him. I can't live anywhere else. I can't be with anyone else. I'm not allowed to like anyone more than him even if I want to. That would be selfish. I have to help him…even if I want to do other things."

"Do you want that?" asked Saleh. He retrieved a blanket from the armchair across the room and draped over Knoll's shoulders.

"Do I want what?"

"Do you want to do something else, to live somewhere else and to partake in the company of another?"

Even as Knoll gave a small nod he said:

"I have to look after Lyon and find-" His next murmur was indistinguishable as he fell asleep upon the cushions.


	5. Signposts

Knoll awoke to his hair tie pressing uncomfortably against the back of his neck. He found himself covered in a thick layer of blankets and his head propped up on both a cushion and a pillow. He yawned as it slowly dawned on him that the morning sun wasn't generally that bright. He pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at the time. It was the afternoon. He'd slept through to the afternoon. It was the afternoon and he was still on Saleh's sofa! He got up, disentangling himself from the blankets as he looked for any sign of the house's rightful occupants. He spotted a folded piece of paper on the coffee table atop a large stack of children's' books. Fairly sure that hadn't been there before; he picked it up and read:

**Dear Knoll,**

**Unfortunately I cannot be here right now, for I have a meeting at the University of Magvel where I will likely be kept all day. I did not feel right in waking you, however I did make you some sandwiches and put them in the fridge in case you are hungry when you awake. You will undoubtedly find hanging round my house alone a little awkward so feel free to take the number two bus, which leaves from the corner of the road and will take you to town centre. There I am sure you can get home from.**

**Thank you for your company and your honesty. I am feeling more at peace with my sudden acquisition of powers. I am grateful to have you as a friend.**

**Until next we meet, be that next Tuesday or sooner.**

**Best wishes.**

**Saleh.**

It would be ungrateful of him to not eat the sandwiches. Knoll tentatively entered the kitchen and tried not to be too bowled over by the flashy modern fixtures and fittings. He opened the fridge, a wardrobe-sized confection of silvery plastic including a little panel on the front for cold water and ice. He found the sandwiches, neatly wrapped in clingfilm on a flower-patterned plate. Tuna and cucumber… was this a coincidence or had Saleh actually remembered what sort of sandwiches he used to bring in for his lunch? Lyon liked tuna and sweetcorn so they had always had left over tuna. When Knoll hurried off to university with a packed lunch, he always brought tuna sandwiches with him. This was probably a coincidence and he was over-thinking things... Perhaps he just longed too much for his university days. Distracting himself from the matter, Knoll sat at the kitchen table, ate his sandwiches, and then washed up. To show his gratitude he washed up the plates and bowls that evidently been left by the sink to be cleaned when Saleh and Myrrh got back. As he dried up, he decided he should probably leave the house. He didn't want to overstay his welcome and Saleh had been right. It was rather awkward standing here in someone else's house whilst they were away. He should go home and see Lyon- Lyon! He had been alone since yesterday night and now it was the afternoon!

He grabbed his shoes and cardigan and made a swift exit, making sure the door did lock itself behind him. He managed to catch the number two bus into town and had made it to the district centre within half an hour. The next journey was spent in a fit of mounting worry. Had Lyon eaten? Had he slept? What kind of emotional state was he going to be in when Knoll got back? Why had he felt it was alright to leave Lyon in such a distraught state alone in the house? Knoll felt terrible and he knew he was right to. He was an awful person for his neglect.

He opened the door with rather too much force, causing it to thud on its hinges. Hastily closing it, he slipped off his shoes and hurried down the stairs into the central hub. He would have run straight into their living area, however a sudden stench in the hub almost knocked him back into the corridor outside.

He frowned. Despite the ever-present air conditioning, the cloying scent of decaying fruit hung about the room combined with what was definitely blood. He covered his mouth as his throat became painfully dry and his chest felt rather heavy as he trod closer to the coffee table. The off-white glow of the monitors, which illuminated their half of the immense room, sent heavy shadows sprawling across the living area. Therefore it was only when Knoll approached his regular seat did he see the piles of books arranged about the table. He wrinkled his nose as he realised, despite the fact each book was in an individual plastic wrapping, they were the source of the smell.

He held his breath as he peered at the top most volume. He could feel the magical aura about these tomes without conscious effort. Usually they kept anything powerful out of the living room. It was expensive to keep replacing all those monitors when experiments went awry. Magical artefacts belonged in the laboratory-come-study, not in places where food and drink were consumed. Their powers could only protect them so far.

After checking the surrounding darkness for any sign of Lyon, Knoll inspected the plastic wrappings first of all. The letters M.M.A were printed across every wrapping in large red capitals. There were also silvery stickers bearing barcodes along each book's spine. With due caution, Knoll ran a finger over the nearest label. The plastic was cool but otherwise mundane. This foul aura was definitely from the books themselves.

In the hope of obtaining fresher air, Knoll crossed over to the central computer terminal. He submitted a search for M.M.A in relation to magic. What he received surprised him, not only because this was those books' origin, but by the fact he hadn't thought of this at once.

The Museum of Magical and Arcane Arts was abbreviated only to M.M.A. so not be confused with The Museum of Military Artillery and Artifice which turned out to be in the same district. Whilst Knoll had never been there, the Tellius district was a little too far for him, he had read a lot of articles published by those that worked there. Magic was how they had classified many superpowers before such gifts were celebrated. Those with unnatural powers used to be burned or drowned as witches, arrested and punished as criminals or even used in horrible experiments by so-called scientists for matters not always based on their powers. The M.M.A held exhibitions and kept records on how 'magic' had been used through time. However those plastic-wrapped books didn't seem like they had been on display. They looked like they had been stored away, and by their dark auras, Knoll wondered if it had been for safety. Next came the question of how they got here. The answer to that was definitely with Lyon.

Knoll left the central hub and entered their living space, just as he had initially intended. He noticed Lyon's Magvel's Mightiest door hanger was back on the handle and was currently displaying the '**Superheroes at Work – Do Not Disturb'** side. However the door was slightly ajar and Knoll could hear Lyon speaking from within.

"- understand. I was too fixed on the past. I know I need to capture the here and now of superpowers… and I will not question your wisdom again."

Knoll frowned. Who was he talking to? The conversation seemed one-sided so he was obviously on the phone.

"Yes sir, I did it and I have the books from the museum, I'm sure they will prove invaluable to my learning experience though… I'm a little nervous about the other half."

There was a long pause as whoever was Lyon was on the phone to seemed to give some kind of long talk. Knoll peeped round the door to see the vibrantly coloured, but pristine, interior of Lyon's room. Ever wall was covered in framed posters of his beloved heroes. The toys that would not fit in his chair, or were too valuable to be allowed out of their boxes, were arranged neatly on the shelves, desk and round Lyon's bed on top of the Sol and Luna bedsheets. Lyon was curled up on his bed, tablet before him, phone in hand. He looked like he had been crying but there was a slight smile on his face as he nodded along to whatever the man on the phone was saying.

"I understand," he replied, "I do sir, and I'm trying my hardest. I'm flattered you think I could pull off such a venture. I'll make sure I don't mess this one up, you have my promise on that. I've already arranged to meet the Crimson Emperor and the Disciple of Black Feathers. The Crimson Emperor said my cause was very noble and he looked forward to our meeting. That's definitely a good start."

More silence. Knoll wondered who these two people were. They didn't sound like heroes at all, and even if they were from Magvel and weren't heroes, he would have heard of them. Anxiously he waited for Lyon's next response. Lyon was smiling as the man on the phone spoke, he had even sat up a little, and was curling in on himself just as he always did when someone was paying him a compliment. The man on the phone was making Lyon happy… not a bad thing of course, but Knoll didn't like this anonymity.

"Oh I will sir," the sudden confidence in Lyon's tone took Knoll aback. His smile had become something like a smirk. "I've elaborated a little on your excellent ideas. I know how to play the game now and I will do it well."

Where had this confidence come from? Knoll didn't understand what was going on. He took a step back as Lyon said his goodbyes, pretending he had never looked as his thoughts were sent reeling. Who had Lyon been talking to? Who was he going to visit? What was this about a 'game'?

He heard Lyon give a sigh and gently knocked upon the door to announce his arrival.

"Knoll?" Lyon called. He took that as his cue to enter.

"I'm here."

"Knoll, I went looking for you this morning and you weren't here," Lyon got up off his bed, putting on his slippers as he did so, "I wondered where you'd gone. I thought something had happened."

"I'm sorry," Knoll felt terrible. He knew this would happen and he had gone out anyway. What did that make him now?

"It's ok," Lyon was still smiling, a good sign, as he said: "You probably heard. I rang up the Blackstone Welfare Clinic yesterday and today… they're very nice to talk to."

"I'm glad you had someone to talk to. I will not leave again if you need me," Knoll promised, "I did not mean to be out for so long. I accidentally fell asleep on my tutor's sofa and he didn't feel like he should wake me. That will not happen again."

Lyon gave a light chuckle that made Knoll feel instantly relieved.

"I understand," Lyon replied, "It was very hard to sleep after we failed to get the arc… Would you like to come on a day-trip with me tomorrow?"

"A day-trip?"

"Come, I'll show you." With that Lyon left his room for the corridor outside and undoubtedly the hub beyond.

Knoll followed, his relief somewhat nullified by yet another bizarre turn of events. Firstly, Lyon seemed to be motivated again. If he didn't know better, Knoll would say his mood-swings were drug-related at the rate he was having them. Lyon's moods were gradual and stubborn, they didn't change so rapidly, even if it was over a few days! Secondly, Knoll had heard him on the phone talking to the Blackstone Welfare Clinic. He had rung them twice and apparently that number didn't exist. Also the internet didn't seem to have heard of them. As he hurried to keep up with Lyon he tried them again, pressing his phone to his ear so Lyon wouldn't hear what he was up to.

_The number you are calling does not exist-"_

Knoll hung up. Lyon had just been talking to them! He had seen and heard it. The Blackstone Welfare Clinic existed and Lyon had been talking to them. The only place Lyon could have got their number, as they were absent on the internet, was that card. So why wasn't it working for him? Was it his phone? Was he overthinking this by feeling it was sinister? They seemed to have done some good for Lyon but that didn't make Knoll feel any better. He was an expert in dealing with Lyon's moods, there was nothing he hadn't tried that the clinic could suggest Lyon do on his own. Besides, it sounded like Lyon had been taking orders from the man on the phone, or was that just advice and once again, Knoll was overreacting. He shouldn't complain if Lyon was happier.

"Knoll?"

"I'm coming!"

In his dilemma he had slowed to walk so he hurried after Lyon back into the central hub. There Lyon had already loaded up train timetables and a street map on the monitors.

"We are going here." He lit up another monitor. On it was a building that put Rausten Cathedral to shame with its grandeur and gaudiness. It was undoubtedly a cathedral too, but one so high it seemed to match the skyscrapers around it. The advertising on said skyscrapers, a bit of an advert for Greatfang Toothpaste and a banner for a show-jumping contest showed he was looking at a cathedral in the Tellius District. That made sense since it seemed Lyon had already made a trip to the M.M.A, or at least someone had. He glanced back at the awful smelling books as Lyon gestured at the cathedral on the screen.

"This is Mainal Cathedral," he proclaimed, "The building with the most power in Tellius despite being a religious establishment. They take religion a lot more seriously there, and they don't think superheroes are particularly special either. Such an odd district."

"Half of their population apparently turns into giant animals," Knoll pointed out, "So I guess having powers isn't that remarkable."

"Hmm." This fact seemed to sadden Lyon. Now Knoll thought about it, he had never seen any big brand name for superheroes from Tellius. There was of course Magvel's Mightiest, Elibe's Elite. And Jugdral's Judgement, Lyon had things from all those ranges with his preferences obvious. He wasn't quite sure what the brand of the Akaneia district was but he knew they had one. They had those little figurines that didn't have trousers. He'd seen people with them on their bags at university.

"Well there are superheroes there," Lyon continued, "Not just transforming ones either. The man we're going to see is a sextuple hero and a key religious figure. Yet, and here's the good part, he has the same dark energy power as we do. If we are to learn how to make our powers acceptable without what is available in our own district. He is the person to ask. I've already arranged a meeting with him. He was exceptionally kind, though he did keep calling me 'child'."

"So we're going to the Tellius district tomorrow to meet this man?" Knoll confirmed. Lyon hadn't mentioned how he had found out about this person or what this man's other five powers were. If he had powers that were viewed as holy, then perhaps his dark powers had been overlooked in favour of those. There was the definite possibility that the mysterious Welfare Clinic had pointed Lyon in this man's direction. He had mentioned on the phone two men called the Crimson Emperor and Disciple of Black Feathers. If Knoll had to take a guess, he'd say they were about to meet the latter. It still didn't sound like a hero's name though. Admittedly they couldn't talk. The Necromancer hardly sounded heroic, though his side-kick name wasn't bad.

Still, he would like to know more about this man before they met him. Lyon couldn't randomly go meeting strange men he'd heard about on the phone, it could be dangerous. Especially if this man was a sextuple hero, his powers could be anything from dark magic to summoning abyssal monsters. If he was a sextuple villain, he would be put on the most wanted list immediately for having so many powers. Two double heroes such as themselves wouldn't stand a chance against him most likely, especially being double heroes with identical powers. Their powers were strong but they would have no hope against someone in control of all their multiple abilities. Lyon had better be sure this man was on their side and would stay there.

"Yes, we'll have to dress smartly to be allowed entrance to the cathedral, let alone the offices within it. You do have a suit don't you?" Lyon glanced at Knoll before focussing back on a list of train times.

"Yes, I still have those from…from before."

"Me too."

This would not be the first time Knoll would go suited and booted into another district. Lord Vigarde used to throw some extraordinary functions where he would insist his entire family attend for appearances' sake, including the ward he usually excluded from such matters. Knoll had been twelve when he had been given his first suit, matching the eight year old Lyon's of course. From then on he had nine years of matching suits to endure. Even after Lord Vigarde's second death he had thought it wasteful to throw away the very expensive wardrobe he had been provided for such events. None of his other clothes were designer and he tended to ignore the expensive suits with their fancy bags on hangers. Yet if Lyon thought that was required, they would match once more. It at least was better than his sidekick outfit and Lyon wasn't going to get a cold from those shorts. He did wonder if Lyon's suits would still fit him however. He had lost a lot of weight during recent years, however much Knoll baked for him. The suit belonging to his eighteen or nineteen year old self may be too big for him.

"Also we'll have to wear these." Lyon opened up a drawer beneath the keyboard in front of him and pulled out a package wrapped in brown tissue paper. He revealed two new superhero masks, the flick-edged masquerade style they usually wore, but in a formal black. Superhero masks to match suits…

"Only when we get there right?" Knoll asked. They would look a sight on the trains wearing these and suits,

"We won't be warping, so I think that's wise," Lyon replied, "We'll get the number twenty three bus to the district centre and then walk to the station from there. We can pick up breakfast on the way."

"There is a lovely ice cream place in town that does pancakes and waffles," Knoll suggested. They would look a bit funny in there wearing suits and it was a little unhealthy. However they both managed to eat everything Knoll baked without issue and Lyon still lost weight…

"That sounds great!" Lyon smiled, clapping his hands together as he turned his desk chair towards the centre of the room.

"I'm going to do some reading," he announced, getting up and heading to his hanging chair, "You're welcome to join me."

It took only a moment for Knoll to realise what exactly he would be reading. He took the invitation and retreated to the coffee table. However he was more interested in why Lyon had taken a lot of books from a museum than in what those books contained. He needed to find a way to approach the subject without sounding too accusatory. He couldn't imagine Lyon had any ill intentions but theft was thefs and those didn't smell like the sort of books any institution would willingly lend out.

"These books," he began, "Are they from the Museum of Magical and Arcane Arts?"

"Yes," Lyon said simply, picking up the first book off the top of the pile and ripping off its plastic wrappings as it were the paper about a present.

"They've got a powerful magical aura about them," Knoll tried, taking a seat in his own hanging chair.

"Yes, they're a collection of books by powerful dark energy users," Lyon explained, "I bet our study has a magical aura too."

He still wasn't explaining how and why he had them. Perhaps Knoll needed to be a little more direct.

"Did you steal them?"

Lyon looked up at him, having just opened the first foul book.

"They weren't going to give them to me and I'm not going to let their prejudices dictate how I could be," he replied, a surprising amount of seriousness in his tone, "Without the Demonicon we need these to make a difference. This theft will only cause good things."

So he had and by the sounds of it, Lyon didn't regret it one bit. Knoll had to wonder how he had managed such a robbery all by himself. Their warping was a result of combined power, an extra ability often formed when two empowered people joined their forces. He couldn't have got to the Tellius district or even the museum that way.

"Besides, I'm only following in their footsteps," Lyon added, "They stole these books from other districts thinking themselves superior, lots of these texts are from our district. In a way I'm saving them."

"That doesn't mean stealing them is right," Knoll pointed out, "It's something a villain would do."

"Well we're unconventional heroes, you've said it yourself," Lyon flicked a page over, "We'll just have to resort to unconventional means."

It was true, he had said that countless times. However the fact that Lyon had actually listened to him provided no comfort whatsoever. The attempt to take the Arc of Latona had gone exactly like their old missions. Good intentions, well-thought out plans, followed by terrible results and a lot of death and the police being called. That wasn't strange, however a long list of bizarre things were piling up around it. Lyon's mood-swings, the non-existent yet talkative welfare clinic, visits to two men who sounded like supervillains and this robbery… Knoll was getting scared. Something big was happening and he was clueless in the wake of it. He usually knew everything that went on in this base, it was why he called himself Lyon's butler so often, yet his 'master' now had a will of his own and secrets to keep. This wasn't right. He was a sidekick…his hero was meant to tell him everything.

"Help me sort these by district of origin, please?"

Knoll wordlessly started unwrapping books and putting them on pile. He would do this, but he would not read them. He would only follow orders so far. He was not going to partake in learning from crime, he was a hero's sidekick and he was moral. Yet here Lyon was, smiling away as he piled up Magvellian books before him. What was more important, the morality of what they were doing or whether Lyon was finally happy again? Knoll wanted to slam the book he was holding onto his forehead. Lyon's happiness had always come first. He had made that promise to Lyon's father aged sixteen. He would help Lyon and preserve his happiness no matter what.

"Knoll, I think that one's from Elibe."

He put the book on the pile with an air of resignation.

The following day, Knoll ironed his and Lyon's suits and shirts whilst his hero was in the shower. He stood in the central hub in his pyjamas, glaring at the neatly stacked piles of books, one of which Lyon had taken with him last night as a twisted form of bedtime reading. He'd also been on the phone to the welfare clinic, Knoll had heard him talking animatedly throughout the evening to whom he could not tell. He missed it when Lyon used to talk that passionately around him. He eyed the blood-splattered books with mistrust and almost burnt himself on the iron. Only bad things could come of this and what if he wasn't sufficient to protect Lyon from them? Did Lyon even know where he was going? Was Knoll's ignorance only due to Lyon being in the same state? If so he was hurtling blindly into something that could possibly kill him. You did not mess with supervillains and their ilk and get away unaltered.

When Lyon entered the hub to get his suit, Knoll rounded on him, catching him quite by surprise.

"Lyon, promise me you aren't going to commit any more crimes."

"Are you still thinking about that?" Lyon picked up his suit and draped it upon his body to check if it would still fit.

"Yes," Knoll exclaimed, "Something awful could happen to you and the prospect of that frightens me."

"I won't commit any more crimes," Lyon said calmly, "I promise. There's no need for you to worry. If it makes you happy, I'll even give the books back when I've finished them."

"That…that would be good."

Lyon smiled before walking off back towards his room to get changed. Knoll stared at his own suit and knew he should be doing the same. Somehow, Lyon's assurances had done nothing to placate his misgivings. He was scared and the horizon wasn't looking any clearer.

His fear pursued him out the front door and onto the number twenty three bus. It plagued him on the district centre's cobbled streets and made his waffles bitter-sweet in his mouth. Lyon, who was watching the Magvels' Mightiest channel on the parlour's screens, was talking animatedly about the recent adventures of the Twin Heroes. He was excited by the fact there was a newly allied pair of villains they were rumoured to be pursuing, and a recently revealed new line of Twin Heroes dress up figures. Knoll had heard this babble of fanaticism so often he kept accidentally tuning out of the conversation. He did his best to nod and say 'mm' a sufficient number of times however one rant about the Twin Heroes was much like any other. He was rather relieved when they cleared their plates and set off for the station.

For a weekday morning, the district centre was understandably busy with people walking their daily commute. They joined a tide of suited people passing through Grado's Arch, out of the district centre and towards the station. They passed numerous coffee outlets offering deals to weary commuters and a shambling line of market stalls setting up for the day. Everything from hand woven baskets to knock-off toys and furnishings were being unloaded from the middle of the road, causing quite the jam. Magvels' Mightiest had their headquarters along this road, the busiest in the district. They gazed up at the brightly lit screens around the building, displaying the hottest new heroes and villains in town in action poses before showing what merchandise was to be released soon and where to get the next edition of their weekly magazine. Lyon wasn't the only one hanging about outside, staring longingly at the screens. Knoll gently steered him away through the assembled crowd with a hand upon his shoulder. Hanging round people with good superhero knowledge was dangerous for them. There were a few photos of them floating around and someone eagle-eyed could see past their masks. They moved on with haste once Lyon realised this.

They passed Carcino Market and Leisure Centre without incident and rounded a corner along the busy road as a police car came screeching past. Paying it no mind, they passed the Pegasus Post headquarters and continued on with the crowd.

"Can you smell something odd?" Lyon asked as he fiddled with his suit jacket sleeves. Knoll took a deep breath and inhaled exhaust fumes and the scent of coffee from a nearby café. He coughed a little as they walked up to the station gates.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." If Lyon was asking about what he could smell he evidently thought magical superpowers were involved. All energy-based powers had a smell about them, theirs' smelt of decay and off fruit for instance.

"Are you sure I-" There was an explosion somewhere ahead, right behind the station. Knoll smelt in then. Something like artificial banana sweets mixed with burnt rubber. Transformation magic, he'd smelt it before.

"Knoll, look!"

There was a sudden screeching of sirens and flashing of red lights from the surrounding roads as police cars shot towards the scene. However that wasn't what had caught Lyon's attention. Five shapes in a perfect V formation were flying through the sky straight towards the station. Lyon grabbed Knoll by the hand and ran with him into the main station hall as the fingers swooped in through the station roof. Knoll had always thought the station roof was fully covered and whole, however that changed when Lyon led him inside.

There they were met with a scene of carnage. Commuters were running, screaming. Policemen were shouting. There was smoke in the air and a deafening metal screech as a train… no a wyvern made from a train, reared its colossal head and spat oil at the gun-wielding police officers. Knoll and Lyon took refuge between a pillar and bench where they got an unspoiled view of the metal beast, which screeched again, the man astride it cackling with laughter.

"The Wyvern Lord," breathed Lyon as he watched with wide eyes, "Just like I told you! He allied himself with the Beastblade and-!" He gasped and looked as if he was about to faint.

The five figures had landed on top of four police cars that had been driven into the station with heavy crunching sounds as their impacts made the cars' roofs bend inwards. Knoll propped him up but his eyes were fixed on the five new intruders. He should have known.

"Whitewing, the Divine Princess, Marksman and the Twin Heroes!" Lyon exclaimed, "Knoll! Put your mask on!"

"You know we can't help them," Knoll said firmly, "It's too risky."

"No, but we don't want to be identified." Lyon passed Knoll his mask as they remained where they were. It had been a long while since Knoll had seen Lyon so excited. Admittedly they were in the same room as his beloved heroes so Knoll was simply glad his reaction was sensible and not inappropriate. Knoll cast his gaze back to the assembled heroes. A real superhero team lay before them, with matching costumes in different colours, combinable powers, repeatable catchphrases… Knoll had to admire their presence if nothing else.

"Wyvern Lord! Beastblade!" cried the assembled heroes in unison, "Your time is fading, your days are done, in your coming here, we've already won!" Knoll noticed that Sol and Marksman didn't look so enthusiastic about the rhyming in unison thing. He agreed that it was cheesy and overdone. Lyon was lapping it up however, mouthing the words as they continued their chant right to the very end. The heroes cried their names as the two villains, Beastblade having emerged from the shadows of a ticket office, laughed at the display.

Knoll listened to the melodramatic returning speech with little interest. Yes he wanted to be a proper sidekick one day but he didn't really enjoy the melodrama. The saving people was the bit he preferred, the part that actually made you a hero.

"Whitewing, Princess!" called Sol, who was pointing with his Sun Lance, the most ostentatious weapon to ever grace the district, "Take on the Beastblade from afar and be careful! Marksman, cover us all!" Luna and I will take on the Wyvern Lord. We can out-pace his train easily!"

"So basically warg, attack it, hit with a stick?" called out Marksman, "Aren't you at least going to try a new strategy from the dozen's we've discussed?"

"Don't get your knickers in the twist," Sol turned on the spot and pointed his spear at the train-wyvern, "I don't pick fights I can't win!"

With that he and his sister launched off the police car into the sky above the rearing wyvern.

"Don't you just want to kiss him until he suffocates?" Lyon sighed. Knoll blatantly ignored this comment and focussed on the fight ahead. Sol sounded different to the Ephraim he had once had lessons with. He was somehow more serious tet more excited, though that could be the role of responsibility he had gained. He hadn't heard him in a casual setting in years.

"Don't think you can match me pretty little heroes!" cried the Wyvern Lord, "Why don't you come here and let me taste you with my wyvern's jaws! I might even save of a slice of you for myself afterwards!"

"You're sick in the head Wyvern Lord, and its time to face justice!" cried Luna as she brandished her Crescent Blade, floating in mid-air. The Twin Heroes suddenly vanished from sight, their inhuman speed landing them atop the wyvern before the villain could do so much as cackle. There was another explosion, the blast of which swept the two hiding heroes' hair back from their faces and made their eyes sting and water with debris.

"We should go," Knoll exclaimed as they ducked behind the bench. Three more explosions went off in the hall before them.

"We could help," Lyon suggested, a note of hopefulness in his tone.

"With the entire police force and the Fabulous Five here?" Knoll retorted, "I'm sorry but they think we're villains, we'll get arrested or even killed." They weren't actually called the Fabulous Five, that was just what the newspapers called them occasionally.

"But…" Lyon peeped over the bench, "Knoll…Knoll, there's a dog on the tracks! It's looking for its owner, maybe they were in the train and-" Knoll interrupted him

"No, Lyon we can't. I'm very sorry but I don't want to see you in gaol! You've already stolen all those books, they'll arrest-" Too late. Lyon had vaulted the bench. Knoll sighed and did the same as more blasts sounded from where the Divine Princess and Whitewing were fighting Beastblade.

"We are just going to rescue the dog and then we are warping out of here!" Knoll cried. His shout however drew the attention of the battling heroes. Sol turned and looked down. Knoll didn't need extra special sight to know that he understood who was running about on the floor below. Their eyes met and Knoll fixed the superhero with a glare he liked to think would wilt flowers. The hero merely nodded and went back to hammering away metal limbs to get at the Wyvern Lord.

The moment of distraction cost him, for by the time he returned his attention to Lyon, there were zombies crawling from the train-wyvern's windows up onto its back.

"Necromancer, no!" he called, "Please, this isn't our fight, let's leave!"

He sprinted forwards and grabbed Lyon by the back of his suit jacket just as the aforementioned dog gave up finding its master and sprinted towards the bench they had just vacated.

"Necromancer, please."

His hero scowled at him and took his hands with the greatest reluctance. His gaze was focussed on the flashes of light that were the Twin Heroes battling above.

"Don't you need to ring the man we were going to see today?" Knoll suggested to him, "We should let him know we can't make it. It would be rude to just not show up."

"Yes, you're right," Lyon sighed, "But… next time I am joining in whatever you say, and we will go to the next meeting regardless of superhero intervention!"

"We will," Knoll promised, "But let's leave before those zombies cause a panic, alright?"

"Alright." He sounded cantankerous, but Knoll had his hands now and they were going to warp.

They focussed their energies upon each other and vanished in a sudden flash. Staggering out of their warp cupboard, Lyon said nothing to Knoll but strode straight through the hub, into their living quarters and to his bedroom with a great slam of his door. Knoll sat in his regular chair and sighed. They were going to get implicated in this just because of those Twin Heroes and one dog. Lyon's life would be so much healthier if Knoll could just make those heroes disappear! Fortunately he didn't have a power that could do that, besides Lyon would probably find a way to get them back again. He was the stronger of the two of them.

He rested his forehead on the edge of the chair just as his mobile gave a solitary beep. He checked it. A text from Saleh loaded upon the screen.

**Dear Knoll. Are you alright? Myrrh has taken to watching the Magvels' Mightiest programming channel upon the television and they reported the probable presence of the Necromancer and the Watcher at today's raging station battle. Apparently there are zombies eating the fallen police officers present. Kind regards Saleh.**

Knoll deliberately hit his head against the side of the chair. Police eating zombies! This didn't need police officer eating zombies on top of everything else! They were meant to be doing some good, that was what this mysterious trip was for. Now Lyon was angry with him, they hadn't managed to attend their meeting and the Twin Heroes knew they were involved. Not only that, he still hadn't answered any of all these painful mysteries than only seemed to pile up and grow! This was going from bad to worse and Knoll prayed this was rock bottom. He didn't think he could take anything worse. He cast an angry look at the stolen books before confining himself to the kitchen, making sure something good could come of his hands, even if it was just shortcake.


	6. Embers

"I've ironed you some trousers." It wasn't a traditional morning greeting but it was an accurate one. He couldn't really wish Lyon a good morning because nothing so far had been good about it. It was raining. Lyon was angry with him. More books had appeared in the living room overnight. There had also been a long feature glorifying how the twin heroes had dealt with the station incident on the news this morning. Contrary to other people's beliefs, Knoll did not enjoy weekends, especially when that weekend involved getting up at the crack of dawn to get ready to go to another district. Not only that, they had to go and visit this 'Crimson Emperor' person in their superhero outfits. Knoll was never ready for the early morning, but he definitely wasn't ready for a combination of early mornings and Lyon in those shorts.

"Thanks," Lyon took the trousers from him and started at them, "I'll wear them tomorrow."

He yawned and tucked his free hand into the pocket of his rabbit-patterned pyjama bottoms. Knoll frowned a little as he tucked the iron away.

"I'd hoped you'd wear them today," he said softly, hoping not to wind up Lyon any further. Lyon had not been in a good mood with him since the episode at the station on Thursday. He had heard him talk loudly on the phone to the Blackstone Welfare Clinic for the last few nights. He was sure that his sidekick name had come up on occasion, though he couldn't make out much through the wall. He hated the idea that Lyon was complaining about him to strangers. He despised the idea that Lyon would have reason to. He didn't know what he hadn't done well enough. He had spent all his time trying to keep Lyon happy and healthy and now… He looked at the bright purple trousers; they were almost the same shade as Lyon's absurd shorts.

"It's raining out; you might catch a cold if you go out all exposed."

"We're teleporting to the district centre and then getting straight into the car sent for us," said Lyon, "I'll hardly even get wet."

"Still…they may not be very smart for this meeting."

"Oh, I've made some adjustments to my superhero outfit, I'm sure it'll be much more suitable for formal occasions." Before Knoll could get another word in, Lyon had taken his trousers and hurried back to his room.

Knoll cast a dark look to the steadily accumulating piles of stolen books. The latest lot hadn't come in wrappings so he had no idea where they had come from. However Lyon had promised he wouldn't be doing any more stealing and these books admittedly didn't seem as tainted as their predecessors. He hoped they weren't stolen and Lyon had simply acquired them legally, or from that Disciple of the Black Feathers man he'd been video-calling after their disastrous attempt of meeting him. Knoll hadn't been invited to these conference calls and it seemed that Lyon chose them to happen when he was out or occupied. That of course could be Knoll's imagination of course. He and Lyon had been acting rather separately of late; they didn't know what the other was planning, right?

They were going to this meeting together however. The Jugdral district was on the other side of the city and though the Crimson Emperor (who still sounded like a supervillain in Knoll's opinion) had sent a car for them to pick them up in the district centre, Lyon didn't want to go alone. It was rare for someone to leave their district so the prospect of doing so was rather daunting. With Lord Vigarde they had been to the Elibe District several times for work functions at their famous theatres, however any other district might as well be another world to them. Each district had its own separate law enforcement agencies and attitudes to superheroes. Just like the Tellius Districts' disregard for superpowers, the Jugdral district and their Jugdrals' Judgement agency took an entirely new stance on the empowered. In Jugdral the superheroes didn't support the law, they were the law.

"That sounds dangerous," Knoll had informed Lyon, when Lyon had given him a talk on Jugdral district law.

"What if an incredibly powerful supervillain rises? Won't the city be trapped under an evil law?"

"Well it's no concern of ours," Lyon commented before diverting his attention back to the Magvels' Mightiest channel.

It still sounded dangerous to Knoll. He had done some research of his own and learnt that the superheroes and villains of Jugdral formed leagues and initiatives where many would work together under a unifying leader or council. They didn't hide away at all, in fact it only took a search engine for Knoll to discover who the Crimson Emperor was. He was the leading authority in the Jugdral district, having a large, though questionable, army of heroes who sought to purge the district of foul play and corruption. He was a business CEO on top of his duties, having a corporate empire that involved everything from arms and ammunition to the schools local to the area. That was too much power for one man. If he turned out to be a supervillain… Knoll didn't want Lyon taking advice from, or going to, Jugdral. His actions were getting dubious as it was. Knoll had dithered as much as he could before telling Saleh everything via email. That was yesterday and he hadn't got a reply yet. Perhaps Myrrh had taken over the computer for Neopets.

"What do you think?" Lyon exclaimed as he came back into the central hub once more.

Knoll turned away from the ironing board. Well, it was certainly in more sensible colours… Lyon's new superhero outfit contained a lot more black than it had done previously. He had swapped his purple shorts for black ones patterned with ornate golden flowers. Instead of his little purple cape he now wore a high-collared coat that swirled about him like the cloak of a bad guy from a Saturday morning cartoon. His tunic and boots remained the same however, and Knoll hated to admit this, he looked a lot more like a villain now.

"Well?" Lyon prompted.

"It's a lovely design," Knoll managed, "They're very well made." _They make you look like a villain's fan service accomplice and I don't like it_ went unspoken.

"Thank you." Lyon looked happy, Knoll told himself. Did it really matter that he dressed like that if he was happy? Did it really matter that he had stolen those books if they made him feel better? If these things made him happy when Knoll couldn't… Perhaps he should stop being so judgemental and focus on the bigger things in life… like their meeting maybe. It didn't sit right with him and as his tablet pinged to let him know he had an email, he hoped it wouldn't sit right with Saleh either. He checked it however it was just spam. He hoped Saleh would get back soon. He needed to know whether he was over-reacting or not and a second opinion from an unbiased source would work wonders on his mood.

He went and retrieved his own sidekick outfit where he had last flung it and got dressed. Slipping on his mask he cast himself a disapproving look in the mirror. It wasn't just the outfit this time though. Even under the mask you could tell his sleep had been fitful and his days full of worry. If he wasn't careful he was going to start aging prematurely. He wasn't pretty and delicate like Lyon…just somewhat delicate. If he had Lyon's weight-loss he would probably look like a skeleton not some fairy creature in too small shorts. His hair needed a cut…his ponytail was now halfway down his back… He put his hood up so he didn't have to see it and scowled at himself before leaving the room in a clinking of holy water flasks.

Lyon was waiting for him in the warp cupboard, bouncing on his feet in barely-contained anticipation. Knoll took his hands ready to warp and a moment later he found himself in the pouring rain in the district centre. As Lyon let go, Knoll glanced upwards at the sign of a fashion boutique proclaiming it to be called 'Forme de la Mort' as it creaked from its pummelling by the wind and rain. He was soon distracted by the large black car that pulled up beside them and honked its horn.

"That's for us." Lyon opened the door and got in without question, sliding over the expensive looking leather seats to allow Knoll to enter via the same door. With trepidation, Knoll got into the stranger's car. As soon as the door was closed, any and all sound made by the wind and rain disappeared. After the adjustment and click of seatbelts, not a sound was made within the car, even by the driver, who kept her cap low over her face as she wordlessly pulled out of the parking bay and through Grado's Arch onto the main road. Lord Vigarde's drivers had all been male so a female driver was somewhat intriguing but Knoll kept his curiosity to himself and merely sat there as the thrum of the engine provided the only relief in this tense silence. Lyon was pressed against the window as if he had never seen the outside world before. They hadn't even left the district yet and he seemed mesmerised by the passing cars and shop fronts.

How much did Lyon get out of the house? Knoll couldn't help but wonder as they passed the station, which was clearly running, but in need of some repair. He went swimming every Friday, Knoll knew that because he always found Lyon's swimming things in the laundry. However it was Knoll who went to the shops, sent any post, or picked up any groceries that they'd failed to order. Lyon only shopped online judging by the number of packages they got, so he didn't even go to the look at the Magvels' Mightiest toys you could buy at the district centre shops. He needed to encourage Lyon to get out a bit more. Perhaps they could go to the cinema instead of waiting for Netflix to give them new films. Maybe they could go the park near Serafew Primary… would Lyon like to feed the ducks on the lake? Knoll thought he might enjoy that.

Knoll couldn't fault Lyon when they entered a new district however. He too found himself glued to the window as the elegant looking buildings of the Elibe district passed by. He thought he saw, though that could simply be his over-excitement, the road leading to the Etrurian Pleasure Complex, the area of the district dedicated to theatres, concert venues and fine dining. That must be where Saleh's friend Tethys was working. Elibe's theatres were rumoured to be the best in the city, Knoll had been to a few with Lord Vigarde but those had been family friendly pantomimes… He wondered if Lyon would like to go to a play some time.

It seemed to be raining heavier over this district for it became increasingly harder to stare out the window as the windows were blurred with the torrential downpour. Knoll thought perhaps he saw the famous flying Pegasi statue outside Elibe's Head Police Offices, but could have been anything, he didn't even know whether they would pass the police offices. He had no idea what route they were taking. He did notice some chain stores as they got caught in traffic in what must be the district centre. There must be some similarities between the districts, more than just some branches of Burger Ballast, but Knoll had yet to see them due to the horrid weather.

It took just over two hours to get through the Elibe District, despite keeping to main roads and taking, according to the radio which was switched on mid-jam, was the fastest flowing route. The radio had been switched off as they passed two grand signs saying 'Welcome to the Jugdral District' and they stopped at the petrol station just beyond the border. The driver got out and returned with a bag full of sandwiches, two packets of which were tossed into the backseat for them. They ate gratefully, however they were too focussed on the district they'd never laid their eyes on before to pay much attention to their food.

The buildings in the Jugdral district looked…old, for want of a better world. There were fewer glass fronted office towers, less shiny plating about the skyscrapers. They were somehow grander and more intimidating with their black stone-effect panelling and real stone pillars about the entrance ways. The district centre was ornate with beautiful arched walkways and black and gold railings decorated with flowers and vines made of wrought iron. It looked pristine, almost brand new, yet the style was older and grander than the modern centre of Magvel.

They pulled up outside the tallest skyscraper, a marble-clad affair with grand steps and a selection of flags along the driveway to symbolise city unity. The driver opened the door for them and they stepped onto a gold carpet that had been laid out for them, two security guards with umbrellas flanked them to cover their heads until they were inside. Knoll was rather bowled over by the grandeur. Yes he remembered Lord Vigarde's functions but they weren't really guests at those, more like attractions for the guests who found children in suits adorable.

They were swept into a large reception area and directed to sit in a small lounge-like area to the right of the desk. There was a television showing the district news and a water cooler standing beside the large leather chairs. Knoll felt very out of place in his horrible sidekick outfit. The men and women walking back and forth were clad in expensive suits with an air of sobriety that would best be placed at a funeral. Knoll wished he wasn't wearing so much purple and that Lyon was wearing trousers. They looked so very odd in this marble floored icon of professional decadence.

A woman with violently red hair approached them her heels clicking against the marble. She pushed back an errant strand of hair from her eyes before surveying them both over the top of her nose.

"The Crimson Emperor is expecting you," she stated, "Follow me."

They did as they were told. Knoll wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of ornate dungeon in this place for those who didn't. Everything was far too efficient and organised. There was no litter but no bins, not a single stain upon the carpet or mark upon the walls. The men and women in the officers they passed sat resolutely typing away, not talking to each other, not even looking at each other. Their computers and the whir of air conditions were the only noises coming from room after room of open plan officers. Every employee was like a machine, functional, silent, and hard at work. They got into a lift and rose too many floors for Knoll to keep count. The floor they emerged on was richly carpeted in red and gold yet they passed larger, less-populated offices. All of these too were silent. This wasn't natural, Knoll thought. What kept all these people in line? Was it professionalism? Or was it fear? He was definitely a bit scared now.

They travelled right to the very end of the corridor, up to a door even grander than the others. The woman told them to wait here and slipped inside, only opening the door wide enough to allow herself to pass through before closing the door on silent hinges.

Knoll glanced at Lyon, who looked back. His eyes were wide and he had put his hands in his pockets, a clear sign of nerves. They turned their attentions back to the door and stared at it wordlessly until the woman returned.

"The Crimson Emperor will see the Necromancer," said the woman, holding the door ajar, "His sidekick will wait in meeting room B until he is finished."

Knoll really didn't feel this was the place to object. The woman allowed Lyon to enter and closed the door behind him. She turned to Knoll.

"Follow me."

After thirty minutes of sitting on his own in an abandoned meeting room, Knoll began to feel a bit miffed. He was thankful that at least he had brought his tablet with him and there seemed to be Wi-Fi. He idly flicked through cookery blogs as his chair swivelled back and forth with his need to keep moving. The lady had left him here to wait for Lyon's return and he was both scared and bored, which was proving a toxic combination for his nerves. The meeting room was huge and he felt very awkward sitting in here by himself. This table could sit, what, twenty people? Yet he was, by himself, reading about cake. Maybe he should check if Lyon had posted any fan fiction recently.

"Eight!" exclaimed a young man's voice, making Knoll jump and his chair give a loud squeak.

"Meeting Room Eight, I know the first aid kit is-"

Knoll stared at the vibrant burst of colour that had entered the room. A man, possibly younger than Lyon, had hurried into the room cradling his bleeding hand. However his hand, which looked badly hurt, wasn't the reddest thing about him. He was kitted out in one of the most offensively bright superhero outfits Knoll had ever seen. He was red and gold everywhere and his shorts could rival Lyon's if not for the fact they actually reached his knees.

He gave one shocked look at Knoll and tried to back out with grace.

"My mistake, I'll just-" His hand was bleeding onto the carpet and judging by the cleanliness in this place, someone probably wouldn't let that slide.

"It's alright," Knoll replied, "I've got first aid basics on me if you want help."

"That, that would be great, thank you." The man, who was definitely a few years younger than Lyon, Knoll had decided, walked over to the bored sidekick and gingerly offered his bleeding hand.

"I had an accident with the paper trimmer," he said apologetically as Knoll began to pull things out of the pockets of his cargo shorts. He found antiseptic wipes and spray along with bandages and considered what to do.

"Might be better if you sit down," he said. The boy obeyed at once before offering his arm again. With a practiced precision, Knoll cleaned the injury, made sure it wouldn't get injected and bandaged it up. He then found a pack of painkillers in another pocket and handed them over. Whilst he was doing this, the boy (he did seem rather young) tried to make conversation.

"Erm…you're the Necromancer's sidekick right? You came to meet Lord Brother?"

Lord Brother? So this boy was the little brother of the Crimson Emperor, did that mean he was the man's sidekick? His outfit was certainly red enough for that.

"Yes, I'm the Watcher, sidekick to the superhero, Necromancer" Knoll informed him as he held his arm still, "However the Crimson Emperor only wanted to see my hero."

"Ah… I suppose, though it's probably not very fun waiting round here with nothing to do. I'm A.. I'm Blaze by the way. I'm the single powered sidekick to the Crimson Emperor and I'm his brother… It must be odd, being the side-kick to your little brother even though you're older."

Knoll was taken aback at first but he realised Blaze's mistake.

"We're not related," he said hastily, "I mean…I was adopted into his family, but we're not actually related."

"Really?" Blaze gave an awkward laugh, using his unbandaged hand to adjust his mask, "Sorry, you do look kind-of similar… Are you sure the Necromancer is a hero?"

"Yes," Knoll said bluntly, wondering what on earth this stranger had on Lyon to accuse him of villainy.

"Oh!" Blaze scooted his chair a little away at Knoll's hostility, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to be offensive it's just…not a lot of heroes have visited Lord Brother recently, most of them are-"

Knoll stared at him in alarm. Most of them were what? What kind of man was Lyon meeting all by himself, alone back there without his sidekick to assist him? He resisted jumping to his feet for fear of frightening Blaze and making him agitate his injury, however if he found out that the Crimson Emperor was malevolent he was going to go and get Lyon so nothing else could go horribly in their lives. Blaze seemed to have followed his train of thought.

"It's ok! Lord Brother won't do anything bad for him. What I meant to say…people who visit him are generally quite power-hungry. I don't know what they are, but those who want to learn new powers on top of their old ones…seems a little unheroic maybe? His theories of accumulated empowerment are quite radical…it draws him a lot of attention, sometimes unwanted."

"I see…" Knoll's nerves refused to settle, "Do you know what this theory is? I would like to know… the actions of Necromancer have worried me lately and I..I want to be able to protect him in case anything is dangerous. In case your brother is dangerous."

Blaze nodded. He had begun to fiddle with the shirt-like cuffs which he wore about his elbows.. He gave a little cough into his uninjured hand and glanced at the door.

"I don't think Lord Brother would hurt your hero…however it's knowing things that's dangerous and… maybe it's right you know about Lord Brother… You helped me and I should repay you." He ran a hand through his hair and gave a nervous smile.

"I'll tell you," he said, gaining a little more determination in his tone, "I will. This might take a little explanation though… Have you heard of the Crusaders?"

Knoll considered his words for a moment, wondering if Blaze was referring to what he thought he was. He could only think of that children's' book Myrrh had been reading. It was a legend from the Jugdral district, the legendary crusaders versus the Lopt dragon. It didn't seem too unreasonable, considering Grado and Latona's own stories, that these crusaders were superheroes that had become legendary. Still, how did that apply today?

"Those that defeated Lopt?" he inquired. Blaze nodded eagerly.

"Yes, well, here in the Jugdral district, our powers are inherited down the crusader's blood-lines, anyone with powers have the crusaders blood in their veins…that's why I thought you and the Necromancer were related, see? Ten years ago, a new superhero league was founded, proclaimed to be the new crusaders of this district. They were led by a valiant man, a double hero by the name of Sigurd. I ran away from my brother to help him in his efforts… I'm not proud but the woman I liked… We do silly things in the name of love." His last words were lost to an embarrassed sort of mumble.

"I understand." Knoll put a hand on Blaze's shoulder in some effort to reassure him, "I won't judge anything you say. I… think I've done some foolish things as well."

Blaze smiled and took a deep breath before continuing:

"Well it wasn't a normal superhero league…our enemies made sure of that. We ended up waging a full out war in the city streets. Gathering heroes from the most unlikely places we mustered our forces against the likes of the Gold Arrow, the villain armies of the Executioner and Suited Thunder… It was terrifying to someone who had been a sidekick all his life. These supervillain leaders were big influences upon the city, Head of Police, Head of the Courts, that kind of big. No one knew how villainy had spread so far. I was almost relieved when my brother asked for me to come home but it turned out…it turned out…" His hands shook as comprehension dawned upon the sidekick sitting beside him.

"Your brother was acting alongside the supervillains?" Knoll gasped, "He's a supervillain?" He stood up. He was going to get Lyon!

"He wasn't at first," Blaze pleaded, grabbing Knoll by the arm to stop him leaving," He wasn't but… he offered a truce to the New Crusaders, gathered them in the district centre to talk… yet burnt them all to death starting with the Silver Blade… starting with Sir Sigurd… I saw it happen on the television in my brother's living room... I couldn't do anything." A tear escaped his crimson mask

"He's a supervillain," Knoll repeated, "Lyon is meeting a supervillain!"

"No! He's just unconventional!" Blaze cried, "You see…he had manipulated our army into getting rid of the corrupt head of police and like but…but Sigurd was corrupt too so…so he had to die as well. My brother knew action was the only way forward so he took it and made the district a less corrupt place…the cost was a lot of lives though."

He didn't seem convinced by his own words. Knoll watched as Blaze tried to mop his eyes with his injured hand and regretted it immediately. Unconventional… hadn't he heard that word enough times. He had said unconventional, Lyon had said unconventional, but what did that even mean? Was an unconventional hero a hero at all if they burnt down an entire army? Was an unconventional hero a hero at all if he stole from museums and sent plagues of zombies on innocent police officers? No, Lyon was good. Lyon had to be good… he hadn't worked this hard for so many years for his perfect friend to be…turning evil.

"People change," Blaze sniffed, "Lord Brother raised me… taught me how to use my powers, covered for me every time I accidentally burnt down something important. It's so hard having a power you can't switch on and off…"

"I know," Knoll replied, passing him a tissue.

"I kept hurting people I just wanted to be friends with so…I ended up alone," Blaze continued, "Yet he was there, always there… he was good, he is good, I know it! He's the only person I was able to talk to… just like now… after everyone… He's the most important person to me in the whole world, he's my brother and I love him… he can't be evil!"

"I'm sorry," Knoll mumbled, "I didn't mean to cast accusations…I was worried about my hero. He's…the most important person to me, I don't want to think he's going to turn evil either. That's why I'm scared of him being in contact with someone evil… what if he does something like your brother did in the district centre and I can do nothing to stop him?"

"I had those kinds of doubts before he did it," Blaze said shakily, "Nothing sat right with me anymore. I had said goodbye to my friends… they were superheroes too…called me Blazel all the time because thought it was funny… Lord Brother separated me from my friends at first, made me feel guilty about thinking of them and then…then he hurt them… he killed them…" He looked up at Knoll.

"If life becomes too scary…too like that… I can't believe I'm saying this… but leave your hero behind! Make sure he won't hurt your friends or anyone else!"

The effort of saying that seemed to take a lot out of him, for Blaze slumped back in his chair and began coughing into his uninjured hand.

Knoll stared at him for a moment. Never would it have crossed his mind to leave Lyon and he still thought the notion was ridiculous. If he left Lyon then Lyon would be alone, he'd lose even more weight, he wouldn't take any medication…he wouldn't cope on his own. Well, he had the Blackstone Welfare Clinic to talk to but could they make sure he was eating and sleeping properly? He thought not.

Blaze continued to cough and Knoll became concerned. He crossed over to the water-cooler at the side of the room and got the sidekick a drink. He hurried over and passed it to him. As Blaze took it, Knoll couldn't help but gasp:

"Is that blood?"

On Blaze's uninjured hand, the one he had been coughing into, was definitely blood. There was no way that had come from his other wound, Knoll had washed his other hand in case that was injured too. That blood could only have come from one place.

"You should be in a hospital," Knoll stated, wondering what he could do with his limited supplies to stop a person's lungs bleeding.

Blaze merely smiled.

"I know…but it's not going to change the result… I'd rather be with Lord Brother in this place then be locked away in a ward. It's not contagious…I'm not doing any harm."

"How do you know?" Knoll asked, "Have you been to see a doctor?"

Blaze was still smiling. From his slumped position in his chair he seemed strangely relieved. Knoll hated it, but he could perhaps see why. Death was inevitable after all and if you knew it was coming you didn't have to worry about that…or whether your brother was a villain... anymore

"We're immune to our own powers but not their effects," Blaze sighed "I've been burning things since I unlocked my powers…just think of how much smoke and how many fumes I've inhaled in my lifetime. The grief didn't help… I was angry… I burnt down all the curtains in my rooms and they gave off the most horrid smell… No wonder my time is coming to an end."

"Does your brother know?" asked Knoll. He knew he wasn't going to like the answer before it was even given.

"No…that would make him unhappy," Blaze replied, "He goes through so much, working day and night… When he's around me it's like a holiday for him. I wouldn't want to do anything that displeases him."

"But you're dying," Knoll objected, "Also…your friends are gone, you're lonely and miserable… isn't it as much a superhero's duty to make sure his sidekick is alright than it is for a sidekick to care for his hero?" He could hear the uncertainty in his own voice and it was clearly not lost on Blaze judging by how sympathetic his smile turned.

"It doesn't really matter anymore," Blaze told him, "Not for me anyway though it would make me happy if you thought about that a bit when I can't."

"If…" Knoll didn't know what to say. Blaze was letting his own health and happiness deteriorate for his hero's happiness, he was enduring his doubts and fears for his hero's joy and look what they had cost him… Blaze gave a horrid cough onto his now-bloody wrist and took another sip of water.

"If…" Knoll tried again, "If you ever want to know what other districts are like…before you're gone… you could come and visit us. You could have some fun…there's a nice fair coming in a few weeks… We'd happily let you stay over, I bake nice cakes…"

Blaze laughed before coughing once more.

"Azel," he choked, "It's Azel…"

"Pardon?"

"My name," Blaze said, once he had recovered, "My name is Azel…that's my friends used to call me Blazel…it was a pun…" He sounded happy and Knoll couldn't understand why he was suddenly giving out his name.

"I'm Knoll," he replied, "I've never had a nickname."

"It's been wonderful to meet you Knoll," said Azel, "I haven't had someone to talk to in so long… especially someone as kind as you. I'd love to visit but…I don't want to leave Lord Brother's side in case he wants to be with me and… please?"

"Please?" Knoll repeated.

"Please don't end up like this…" Azel looked at him imploringly, "I don't mean dying, I mean…alone and scared. A hero isn't a hero if he hurts you…but family ties are really hard to let go. Also…I'd be really happy if…if you remembered me. I want someone nice to remember me."

"I..I will," Knoll promised, "I'll always remember you…Blazel."

Azel burst out laughing and crying at the same time. Knoll wanted to rush forward and hold his hand, or embrace him or something, however the door to the meeting room slid open and the same severe red headed woman was there. Azel clapped a hand over his mouth and swivelled his chair away from the door as she entered. Knoll stood up as he saw Lyon standing behind her, smiling.

"The meeting is over, I will escort you back to reception where a car is waiting." There was no denying those orders. Knoll got up, eyes on Azel as he did so.

"I…Farewell Blaze," he said, "It was truly a pleasure to meet you and I'll remember this, I promise." Azel merely nodded, still hiding it seemed from the severe woman.

Knoll cast him one last look before following Lyon back down the corridor. Lyon looked happy but every word spoken in that meeting room weighed heavily in his mind. _A hero isn't a hero if he hurts you._ Lyon wasn't hurting him, just making him stressed and worried…that wasn't really hurting was it? _Lord Brother separated me from my friends at first, made me feel guilty about thinking of them_He felt so bad when he went to see Saleh. That was undeniable but that was his fault not Lyon's surely? Nothing was wrong with Lyon, nothing at all! It was him…all him…

"Knoll, is something the matter?" Lyon asked on their journey home.

"I'm fine." Knoll drew closer to the window hoping the reflective pane did not show his lie.


End file.
